Final Transgression: One Woman’s Tragic Destiny in War-torn France

Spring 1944: Betrayed by her collaborationist husband, Séverine Sevanot travels from Paris to her beloved hometown in southwest France. Séverine’s friends and family have urged her not to go: the region is a tinderbox where the French are fighting not only the Nazis, but their own countrymen who support the pro-German Vichy regime. Séverine ignores the advice. She always does exactly what she wants. Summer 1994: To mark the 50th anniversary of D-Day, an American reporter interviews 85-year-old Caroline Aubry, Séverine’s sister. Caroline tells of fleeing the Germans by taking to the road in May 1940, then returning to a Paris that has been overrun by Germans flirting with young French girls, playing oom-pah band music in the parks, and imposing strict rationing on the city while keeping the best food and wine for themselves. What Caroline omits is a story she has never revealed, even to her son Félix. Now, though, unsettled by the interview and the memories it evokes, Caroline decides that it is time for Félix to learn the secrets of the past… "A gripping, beautifully written novel about love and betrayal." ––Lynne Olson, New York Times bestselling author of Madame Fourcade’s Secret War"A vigorous and compelling tale." ––Robert O. Paxton, author of Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order"Elegant and often moving." ––Alan Riding, author of And The Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-occupied Paris"Final Transgression succeeds admirably in edifying while moving its readers." ––Ronald C. Rosbottom, author of When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light under German Occupation 1940-1944"Harriet Welty Rochefort paints this complex tableau of war in France with a fine brush and a great deal of humanity." ––Mary Fleming, author of The Art of Regret and Someone Else"A taut tale of love, war and politics... brings powerfully to life Paris and the Périgord, before and during WW2 and the Occupation." ––Martin Walker, author of the Bruno detective series