Overview
Brilliant, intensely political, and inseparable for nearly 70 years, Lucie Aubrac and her husband, Raymond, are legendary figures of the French Resistance. Founding leaders of Libération-Sud, one of the most important resistance movements in France, they ran the underground newspaper Libération and served as couriers, arms carriers, and saboteurs. In 1943, when the Gestapo imprisoned Raymond, Lucie engineered a daring escape plan that brought her face to face with feared Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie. When Raymond was arrested again, Lucie mounted a second astonishing rescue, ambushing the prison van that was transporting him. For the post-war generation, the Aubracs were heroes. However, in 1983, Klaus Barbie made the bombshell claim that the Aubracs had become informers in 1943, betraying their comrades. Although later discredited, the allegations raised questions around the many embellishments and inconsistencies in the tales Lucie weaved around herself. Who was Lucie Aubrac? What did she really do in 1943? Siân Rees’s penetrating account—the first English-language biography of this extraordinary woman—provides a long-needed corrective to Lucie Aubrac’s own admittedly “impressionistic” memoir and a fascinating exploration of the intersection of history, legend, and mythologizing.
Reviews
“A refreshing addition to World War II literature.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This is a thrilling story of cloaks and daggers, informers and collaborators, truth and fabrications.” —Library Journal
"Rees provides a well-researched....generally well-written tribute to the Aubracs." — Booklist
“[A] poignant narrative.” —Book Pleasures
Author Biography
Siân Rees studied Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford. She is the author of The Floating Brothel, which was made into a documentary of the same name on BBC2. She is also the author of The Shadows of Elisa Lynch, The Ship Thieves, Moll: The Life and Times of Moll Flanders, and Sweet Water and Bitter.