Monsieur le commandant

"Probably one of the most significant novels of this year."— *L'Express*

"As soon as you open *Monsieur Le Commandant* you will not be able to put it down, such is Slocombe's affinity for his subject matter. . . . His virtuosity and manner of storytelling reveal true talent. . . . Go out and buy a copy of *Monsieur Le Commandant* as soon as you can. Read it; you'll be glad you did."— *Le Point*

"The novel is, in a unique way, a powerful piece of Resistance literature."— *La Vie*

French Academician and Nazi sympathizer Paul-Jean Husson writes a letter to his local SS officer in the autumn of 1942.

Tormented by an illicit passion for Ilse, his German daughter-in-law, Husson has made a decision that will devastate several lives, including his own.

The letter is intended to explain his actions. It is a dramatic, sometimes harrowing story that begins in the years leading up to the war, when following the accidental drowning of his daughter, Husson's previously gilded life begins to unravel.

And through Husson's confession, Romain Slocombe gives the reader a startling picture of a man's journey: from pillar of the French Establishment and World War One hero to outspoken supporter of Nazi ideology and the Vichy government.

**Romain Slocombe** is a writer, director, translator, illustrator, cartoonist, and photographer. He was born in Paris in 1953.