Hannah uses a fictional town, Carriveau, as the setting of her book. Nevermind the fact that there weren’t hundreds of allied planes in the air in 1914, she did help some British soldiers cutoff by the advancing forces of the Kaiser return to British lines-perhaps a picky point but if a character was truly fascinated by the story the character would surely know something as basic as who it was Cavell was executed for assisting. According to Isabelle nurse Cavell rescued hundreds of down allied pilots. Isabelle is inspired by Edith Cavell, the British nurse who was executed by the Germans for spying early in World War I. I was so appalled by the numerous historical errors that I almost put the book down in the second Chapter. In the end there is a cute twist of reconciliation and martyrdom that leaves the reader with a warm feeling.Ī great read right? Not for me.
The SS man rapes Viann repeatedly up until when the Germans evacuate France in 1944. The Wehrmacht guy is pleasant and Viann finds herself attracted to him although nothing ever happens between them. Viann’s home is requisitioned by German forces and she is forced to live with a Wehrmacht captain and later a Gestapo or SS officer. Isabelle, consistent with her rebellious demeanor joins the French resistance and spends the war escorting downed allied pilots through the Pyrenees Mountains to Spain. Isabelle escapes from another school and tries to rejoin her father who owns a bookstore in Paris.įrance loses the war and is occupied by German troops. Both girls are angry at their harsh father but Isabelle also hates Viann for not taking her in and keeping her in boarding schools.Īs the war begins Viann’s husband is ordered to report to the army, leaving Viann alone with their daughter. The older, Viann gets pregnant and is married off at the age of 17. The younger Isabelle is shipped off to various finishing schools where she can’t seem to finish because of her rowdy insubordination. Their father is a World War I veteran-traumatized, distant, almost indifferent to their lives.
Two sisters lost their mother when they were young.
At that time we don’t know what her role was in World War II, but figure it was highly traumatic.įlashback to 1939. Martin’s Press) begins with a backstory of an elderly woman in Oregon planning to return to France.
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