Escape from Paris
A True Story of Love and Resistance in Wartime France
by Stephen Harding
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Pub Date Oct 08 2019 | Archive Date Oct 08 2019
Hachette Books | Da Capo Press
Description
This thrilling wartime adventure tells the true story of the downed American aviators who were rescued by French resistance fighters, taken to Nazi-occupied Paris, and hidden under the very noses of the Gestapo.
Escape from Paris is the true story of a small group of U.S. aviators whose four B-17 Flying Fortresses were shot down over German-occupied France on a single, fateful day: July 14, 1943, Bastille Day. They were rescued by brave French civilians and taken to Paris for eventual escape out of France. In the French capital, where German troops walked on every street and Gestapo agents hid around every corner, the flyers met a brave Parisian resistance family living and working in the Hôtel des Invalides, a complex of buildings and military memorials, where Nazi officials had set up offices. Hidden in the complex the Americans, along with dozens of other downed Allied pilots and resistance operatives, hatched daring escape plots. The danger of discovery by the Nazis grew every day, as did an unlikely romance when one of the American airmen begins a star-crossed wartime romance with the twenty-two-year old daughter of the family sheltering him—a noir tale of war, courage and desperation in the shadows of the City of Light.Based on official American, French, and German documents, histories, personal memoirs, and the author's interviews with several of the story's key participants, Escape from Paris crosses the traditional lines of World War II history with tense drama of air combat over Europe, the intrigue of occupied Paris, and courageous American and Allied pilots and French resistance fighters pitted against Nazi thugs. All of this set in one of the world's most beautiful and captivating cities.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780306922169 |
| PRICE | $37.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 288 |
Featured Reviews
Odette F, Reviewer
This book contains all the elements of a page-turning WWII story - the intrigue of occupied Paris, a wartime romance, and courageous American and Allied pilots and French resistance fighters pitted against Nazi thugs. Highly recommend, especially if you loved The Nightingale!
Louise F, Reviewer
Escape From Paris provides a vivid picture of what Allied airmen and the people who formed the various networks of the French resistance went through during World War II. The author obviously did a lot of research (there are copious footnotes), but was still able to write a compelling narrative, focusing on just a handful of personal stories of (mostly American) downed aviators and one French family in particular. The accounts of how the members of the resistance managed to effect the downed airmen's escape from Occupied France are detailed and show the reader how much they put themselves in danger by doing this work. I have a branch of my family who is French and so I had a particular interest in reading on this topic. While familiar with World War II history in general, I found that I learned a great deal while reading this book. Who knew there were "military tourists" in Paris while the city was occupied by Nazi Germany? Not me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and DaCapo Press (Hachette) for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
Jesse L, Reviewer
An exciting, factual book about B-17 aviators shot down over France, rescued by members of the Resistance, then sheltered in the last place you'd expect - occupied Paris. Hiding (along with other Allied fighters) right under the noses of the Gestapo, one of the men even fell in love with the daughter of the home's owners. Closest to a literal "could not put it down" book that I've e ever read. Highly recommended.
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