The Peacock & The Fire

The Secret Photograph by Siobhan Curham is the most powerful historical novel that consumed my every waking moment.

The novel is mainly set in Paris during World War II. There are also chapters set in 1985. Paris’ lights dim under Nazi occupation. It was a time of great cruelty with round-ups happening daily.

Against this backdrop we meet a brave, young female photographer who one day captures an image that spoke to her heart. It inspired her to become part of the resistance. The Secret Photograph tells her story.

We witness the abominable cruelty. Life was not sacred but cruelly snuffed out in an instant by the Nazis. Children were not treasured but slaughtered. The resistance grew as people held on to the hope that one day the Nazis would be defeated and the lights of Paris would shine once more.

There were still those characters who were larger than life, incredibly brave and retained an air of joie de vivre as they flamboyantly protested against the Nazis, offering a solidarity with the Jews. The vitality of Peacock has been perfectly captured by the author. He springs to life from the pages of the book.

Lives were snuffed out in an instant – lives not only blighted today, but future hopes and dreams gone. “They are stealing people’s lives and dreams.”