'The Midnight of Her Soul' will almost certainly appeal to you if you enjoy novels about human endeavour and survival in extremely challenging circumstances, or you are intrigued about the complex relationships within communities, families and friendships when tested to the limits in such situations. And if you have read and enjoyed Irène Némirovsky's 'Suite Française', Sebastian Faulk's 'Charlotte Gray', L E Indianer's 'A Bridge to Elne', Tatiana de Rosnay's 'Sarah's Key' or Robert Gildea's 'Marianne in Chains' then I believe this novel will appeal to you also. The book is set in the Morvan, Burgundy, in the 1930s. Jacques Duval operates an itinerant ballroom business, is a part-time musician, cobbler and a vintner selling wine to local villagers. Life for the Duvals is uncomplicated and yet hard work, but nevertheless agreeable. When France fell under the occupation of the Nazis in 1940 the Duvals discovered that what became a desperate drive for survival turned some people from rational, law-abiding, pious and principled individuals into marauding thugs as their primeval instincts drove them to do what in normal circumstances would have been abhorrent to them. And they discovered too, that the consequences of people's actions led some to commit cruel and sadistic acts of retribution, causing lives to be wrecked for ever. This novel is a true story about a family struggling to survive during and immediately after the Nazi occupation of France. It is set initially in Burgundy and later in Paris. The principal character, Marie, is one of three young daughters from the Duval household who were forced to endure harrowing and traumatic times. The book is firmly set in the context of its time so that there is comparison between the servile collaboration of ordinary people trying to eek out a living in challenging times, and the infinitely more serious politically motivated collaboration of high ranking officials who sent French Jews to the gas chambers, and yet managed to evade arrest for several decades. Whilst tackling a serious and sensitive subject the reader is invited to enter the everyday lives of the Duvals. There may be tragedy at the heart of their lives but the book touches on a lighter side too: love, friendship and companionship are recurrent themes that are firmly embedded in the central story.
About the Author: K R Chapman graduated from London University and became a secondary school teacher of Geography. He retired in 2014 after 43 enjoyable and rewarding years in the profession. He now lives in Essex with his French wife, whose mother was the inspiration for this, his debut novel.