Resistance and Betrayal

April 1, 2002
"As far as he was concerned, the entire world was on a 'need to know' basis," notes journalist and biographer Marnham (The Man Who Wasn't Maigret: A Portrait of Georges Simenon) of his notoriously secretive subject, celebrated French Resistance leader Jean Moulin. Here Marnham chronicles the life of the civil servant who escaped to London in 1941 and became General DeGaulle's emissary to the Resistance, charged with organizing a collection of scrappy political factions into a cohesive movement. This he did until he was arrested by Klaus Barbie in 1943; despite subsequent torture, Moulin revealed no information and was soon killed. The partisan, whose private life largely remains a mystery, is both a hero and lightning rod in France, where he's been pilloried for his Communist sympathies and where there is still much speculation about who betrayed him to the Gestapo. Marnham has put together a lively and nuanced account, elaborating the role that Moulin's staunchly republican, anticlerical upbringing played in his later political activities. (Mar. 26)Forecast:This book, acclaimed in England, could capture the attention of an American readership primed, both by recent events and by the current fascination with WWII, to honor heroism in war.Correction:
Dominique Browning, author of Around the House and In the Garden
(Forecasts, March 18) is currently the editor-in-chief of House & Garden.

May 15, 2002
In the immediate aftermath of the Nazi defeat of France in 1940, underground resistance to the occupation was sporadic, fragmented, and ineffective. By 1943, under the leadership of Jean Moulin, the Resistance was a united fighting force that forced the Germans to devote increasingly scarce manpower to cope with their attacks. In June 1943, Moulin was betrayed to the Gestapo; after torture by the "butcher of Lyon," Klaus Barbie, Moulin died in captivity. Although he is revered as a national hero in France, Moulin remains a rather enigmatic figure, and the source and circumstance of his betrayal are murky. Marnham, a prizewinning biographer, has written a stirring account of Moulin's beliefs, activities, personal traits, and martyrdom that combines the best elements of an espionage thriller and a tight narrative history. Marnham provides interesting insights into Moulin's political views, and his assertions regarding his capture are both provocative and credible. Yet, Moulin, the man, remains a tantalizingly evasive figure who seems to defy full understanding.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)