‘In her debut novel, a historian of Vichy France tackles her family's real-life collaboration during the Second World War’ New Yorker Best Books of the Year

'Full of so many secrets that it's a wonder she managed to write it all' New York Times

'Shows why historical fiction matters, how stories breathe life into forgotten moments ... Haunting' Cara Black, author of Three Hours in Paris

In a grand Paris apartment, a young girl attends gatherings regularly organised by her mother. They talk about clothes and exchange the day's gossip, but the mood grows dark when they start to talk about her past, and the great love she is said to have known during the Second World War.

When the girl grows up, she looks into the enigmatic figures in and around her family. Who was the man her mother fell in love with before the war? Why did they zealously collaborate with the Nazi occupiers of France? And why did they remain for decades afterwards obsessive devotees of that lost cause?

In The Propagandist, a historian of Vichy France investigates the secrets, lies and omissions in her own family in the way she has investigated those of France itself. It is a masterpiece of psychological insight, revealing how people can spend a lifetime deceiving themselves, rather than confront their own past.

READER REVIEWS

'A brilliant piece of fiction that unequivocally deserves five stars'

'Beautifully written'

'Nearly impossible to set down'

'Fascinating and complex'