Charlotte Gray

Format:	Paperback 512 pages

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Synopsis

In 1942, Charlotte Gray, a young scottish woman, goes to Occupied France on a dual mission: to run an apparently simple errand for a British special operations group and to search for her lover, an English airman who has gone missing in action. In the small town of Lavaurette, Sebastian Faulks presents a microcosm of France and its agony in 'the black years'. Here is the full range of collaboration, from the tacit to the enthusiastic, as well as examples of extraordinary courage and altruism. Through the local resistance chief Julien, Charlotte meets his father, a Jewish painter whose inspiration has failed him. In a series of shocking narrative climaxes in which the full extent of French collusion in the Nazi holocaust is delineated, Faulks brings the story to a resolution of redemptive love. In the delicacy of its writing, the intimacy of its characterisation and its powerful narrative scenes of harrowing public events, "Charlotte Gray" is a worthy successor to "Birdsong".

Book details

Published
01/07/1999

Publisher
Vintage

ISBN
9780099394310

Publisher and industry reviews

Jacket review

"A miraculous novel. . . . Faulks is a master indeed." --"San Francisco Chronicle"
"Eloquent and moving. . . . A page turner for grown-ups, a novel with the rich detail of a great historical narrative." -"The Baltimore Sun"
"There is no shortage of dramatic tension, excitement or persuasive detail [in Charlotte Gray]. . . . Mr. Faulks is a prodigiously talented writer." --"The New York Times"
"This powerful novel...explodes into an immensely gripping tale." --"The Wall Street Journal"
"What begins as a conventional love story becomes an adventure of the spirit... Charlotte Gray has depth and texture." --"The Washington Post"

UK Kirkus review

Faulks has taken a very old-fashioned love story - the dashing pilot separated by war from his spirited 'gal' - and made of it an unbearably moving novel. In London, in 1942, Charlotte Gray's linguistic talent and resourceful nature attract the attention of the Intelligence Services. Supposing her lover to be lost somewhere over France, she agrees to leave the black-out and her stifling job to run their 'errand'. What follows is a thrilling tale of secret assignations, bicycling down country roads in the inky-black night, meagre meals taken in draughty outhouses and keeping faith with comrades. The small town of Lavaurette is in the Free Zone but the political landscape swiftly changes and we experience those dark weeks with unflinching immediacy. Faulks writes with humanity and grace about the ambiguities and shortcomings of the human spirit: despite our chilling capacity for weakness and cruelty there is some possibility of redemption. This is a fine book. (Kirkus UK)

About the author

Sebastian Faulks

Sebastian Faulks worked as a journalist for 14 years before taking up writing books full time in 1991. He is the author of A Trick of Light, The Girl at the Lion D'Or, A Fool's Alphabet, The Fatal Englishman, Birdsong, Charlotte Gray , On Green Dolphin Street and, most recently, Human Traces.