The Bitterest Wine: A novel about a French family's conflicting roles during the German Occupation of Provence and famous writers and poet - Paperback

by Liz Konold (Author)

All that Professor Claire Somerset expects when she arrives in Provence during the summer of 1978 is a restful visit with friends as she finishes sabbatical research on Surrealist poets involved in WWII resistance. Instead, the attraction between her and vineyard owner Maurice Laurent sets off a series of events that turn her life upside down. Claire is given an anonymous journal that describes a family whose members played different roles during the Occupation: pacifist, collaborator, member of the Resistance, prisoner of war, Nazi officer's lover....and murderer of a fellow family member. The codes and initials used in the journal match the Laurent family. Did the Laurents know of their quiet, simple cousin's part in the Resistance? Did the murderer ever confess what happened? How many more secrets is Maurice's family hiding? Fictional characters and their activities revolve among real people and events leading up to the liberation of Southern France. Each is influenced by writers who kept the idea of liberty alive under the threat of capture, torture and death--such as Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett, Andr Malraux, Louis Aragon and Ren Char, the Surrealist poet who organized parachute drops around Mont Ventoux. The importance of the wine industry--war or no war--is woven throughout as the Laurents' disguised cellar hides both refugees and barrels of their best vintages.

Author Biography

The author, Liz Konold, lives part time in Northern California and part time in France. An inveterate Francophile, with a masters degree in international management and a career working at private and public universities, she became fascinated with World War II history in Northern Provence. Over the past four years, she interviewed survivors of the War and conducted extensive research. This led to writing her first novel, centered on the complex choices one faces during crises.