The Watchmaker’s Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom

The courageous life and deep religious faith of WWII Dutch resistance member Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983) are recounted in this immersive biography from bestseller Loftis (The Princess Spy). Known as “Tante Kees” to friends and family, Corrie was the daughter of a prominent watchmaker in Haarlem and was heir apparent to her father’s business. After the German invasion of the Netherlands, the ten Boom family, members of the Dutch Reformed church, opened their shop and home to dozens of Jewish refugees and resistance workers. Drawing on Corrie’s full collection of letters, photos, and notes, Loftis recounts how she brought in an architect to build a secret compartment, known as “the Angels’ Den,” behind a false wall in her bedroom—it could hide as many as six people during Gestapo raids. Corrie, her father, and her sister Betsie were arrested in 1944; only Corrie survived their imprisonment. Throughout, Loftis emphasizes how Corrie’s faith maintained her through the war, and afterward took her on speaking tours “of more than sixty countries telling her story of love, forgiveness, and grace.” This is a well-researched and often captivating portrait of a remarkable woman. (Mar.)