Before you start reading :
At the cover of the book I can see a young blond woman with blue eyes. The title of the book is Charlotte Gray, I think that she is the woman at the cover. At the background there is a couple in love and a combat aircraft in the sky.
I like the cover, it looks romantic and thrilling to me. I guess that the time in which the story takes place is the second World War.
There is some information about the story at the back cover, it tells that Charlotte Gray is a young Scottish woman who is going to France for a dual mission. Unofficially, she wants to find her lover( an English airman missing in action )and officially, she is going to help a British special operation group. Also several magazines have written that it is a good novel.
The book has got 496 pages, and it is divided in four parts. I have chosen for this book, because I had seen the movie( which I liked ).
The plot:
The first part: EARLY 1942
The writer is telling in the first part of the book who Charlotte Gray and Peter Gregory are. Charlotte lives with her parents, and she moves out to London. She wants to work over there and to help England in the war. On the train to London she met two young Englishmen, who starting a conversation with her. One of them, Cannerley, finds out that Charlotte speaks French fluently and he advised her to contact him for an interview. When she arrives in London, Charlotte met her roommate Daisy and later the other one Sally. They are both typical city girls, more independent than Charlotte. She has to learn a lot of the way of living in a city, especially about men. The roommates of Charlotte invited her to a literary party where she eventually met Peter. She also saw Cannerley again and he fancied her, he asked her if she wanted to go on a date with him. She agrees but was thinking that it was for the interview, Cannerley knows a lot of important people who can contact Charlotte with the French resistance. Eventually Charlotte chose for Peter and they are having a relationship. Peter has to leave London for a flight above France, a flight that is very dangerous and the change that you are going to make it throw the German anti aircraft guns is very small. Peter crashed with his airplane and Charlotte does not want to believe that he is dead. She wants to go after him to France, to find him. Charlotte goes to the war office and wants to go to France, she feels a connection between her and France because she has been there for several times in summers. Charlotte goes to a trainings camp to learn to live undercover and to live in a war area.
Charlotte has not got a good band with her parents. She has no idea what her father had done to her but she knows that it must be something bad because her feeling says that she can not trust her father. Her mother is a woman that is not going to argue with her husband, for Charlotte feels this like betrayal.
The second part: SUMMER 1942
Charlotte has to go to France for her first mission. She was given a French identity. Dominique Guilbert; a married woman to a clerk who was now prisoner of war in Germany, and she was travelling to see her sick father. She had also to dye her hair brown, because she had to look more like a French woman. She was going to France by plane and first of all she had to deliver a small package before she went to Lauverette. They wanted to pick her up over there to bring her back to England. On her way to Lauverette Charlotte was trying to reach Peter in a village, there is a garage where Peter could get in touch if something went wrong. She goes over there but the owner says that he knows nothing because Charlotte does not know the secret code. She does not want to believe that Gregory is dead, she wants to keep looking after him. When she arrives in Lauverette she met a man Julien Levade with a codename Octave. He looks after her and find a place to stay when Charlotte decides that she is not going back to England before she has found Peter. She can stay in the house of the father of Julien, where she is his maid. Octave is falling in love with Charlotte, but Charlotte wants to stay loyal to Peter. Octave knows this, he is not trying to convince her of his love. They are also two Jewish children hidden in the village, their parents were taken by the Germans to a concentration camp. Just a few people in the village know that those children are there. There is also a teacher called Claude Benech who fancies Charlotte. It is a lonely man and he thinks that he is very important and interesting. Eventually he is goes over to the communists resistance, and after that he joins the Germans in the village. Meanwhile Peter Gregory is alive. A couple of farmers saved his live by taken him to their farms. The third part: AUTUMN – WINTER 1942/3
Charlotte and the father of Julien, monsieur Levade, are getting ties of friendship. The man is a painter but not a good one anymore. He is sitting in his studio all day long, trying to make a beautiful painting. Charlotte was forbidden to go in there but one day he asked her to come in. They are talking a lot and he asked her about her true identity. She tells him everything, now he is the only one who knows that Charlotte is not French. Charlotte wants to take part of action, she wants to help the villagers in their resistance against the German invaders. She contacts with a man called Mirabel. He is going to help her to find Peter and she is going to some work for him. Charlotte is going to help Julien with a parachute drop. It is at night and a English aircraft is going to drop some boxes and everything went well. A while later she got another appointment with Mirabel. When she got there it was not Mirabel who was waiting for her but Benech. He is blackmailing her, he wants that she is coming to his house every night or he will betray the two little Jewish children. Charlotte went back to Levade and did not go to Benech. The next day Benech and the Germans went to Levade to arrest him. Benech said that he was Jewish and told to Julien that it was or his father or the children that were going to a camp. They decided that Levade goes to the camp. Benech reminds Charlotte about their appointment and she and Julien were locked up in the house. Fortunately they can escape. The fourth part: 1943
Charlotte went after their escape immediately to the boys, to move them to another place. Julien has to kill Benech, or else the children will be betrayed. Charlotte Goes to the children and moved them to an other house, in the mean time Julien goes after Benech and killed him. Charlotte and the two boys were found by the Germans and the boys were taken to a concentration camp. Julien has to hide himself because of his German enemies. Gregory is going to Spain and from there to Italy and Africa. There are his own troops who can send him back to England. Charlotte is also going back to England, but before she goes she wants to try to find Levade and the two boys. She goes to Paris and find the camp where they are. Unfortunately Levade is dead and the boys are already taken to another camp. When she is back in England she goes to her parents. Her father wants to know why Charlotte does not like her father. She does not know it but she can also not forgive him. Then she reminds something out her youth. Her father was a soldier in the first World War and traumatized, he had a difficult time after the war. What he did to Charlotte was crying in front of her and searching for comfort. For Charlotte was it not acceptable that she saw her father crying and puts it out of her memory. Now when Charlotte can reminds this she forgives her father and loves him again. When she is a couple of weeks in England with her parents she gets a phone call. It is Peter who is finally back in England. She goes back to London and met him for the first time after such a long time. They are very happy again and a beautiful couple. Charlotte also gets a letter from Julien to thank her for her help and that he is ok. Peter and Charlotte wants to go back to France when the time is there, to meet all their friends and thank them. After reading the book: In my opinion it is a wonderful book. I really enjoyed it to reading it. I saw the, as I said, movie before and it is not as good as the book is. Also the story in the movie is different, for example Charlotte goes in the movie back to Julien and not to Peter. I also liked the character Charlotte, she was a shy young woman that wants to mean something in wartime. She grows to an independent woman who knows exactly what she wants. And of course the love between Peter and Charlotte is very beautiful, it is so strong. I think that they both survived the war because of this strong love for each other. I can recommend this book to everyone who wants to read a novell about the war and love.
Charlotte has to go to France for her first mission. She was given a French identity. Dominique Guilbert; a married woman to a clerk who was now prisoner of war in Germany, and she was travelling to see her sick father. She had also to dye her hair brown, because she had to look more like a French woman. She was going to France by plane and first of all she had to deliver a small package before she went to Lauverette. They wanted to pick her up over there to bring her back to England. On her way to Lauverette Charlotte was trying to reach Peter in a village, there is a garage where Peter could get in touch if something went wrong. She goes over there but the owner says that he knows nothing because Charlotte does not know the secret code. She does not want to believe that Gregory is dead, she wants to keep looking after him. When she arrives in Lauverette she met a man Julien Levade with a codename Octave. He looks after her and find a place to stay when Charlotte decides that she is not going back to England before she has found Peter. She can stay in the house of the father of Julien, where she is his maid. Octave is falling in love with Charlotte, but Charlotte wants to stay loyal to Peter. Octave knows this, he is not trying to convince her of his love. They are also two Jewish children hidden in the village, their parents were taken by the Germans to a concentration camp. Just a few people in the village know that those children are there. There is also a teacher called Claude Benech who fancies Charlotte. It is a lonely man and he thinks that he is very important and interesting. Eventually he is goes over to the communists resistance, and after that he joins the Germans in the village. Meanwhile Peter Gregory is alive. A couple of farmers saved his live by taken him to their farms. The third part: AUTUMN – WINTER 1942/3
Charlotte and the father of Julien, monsieur Levade, are getting ties of friendship. The man is a painter but not a good one anymore. He is sitting in his studio all day long, trying to make a beautiful painting. Charlotte was forbidden to go in there but one day he asked her to come in. They are talking a lot and he asked her about her true identity. She tells him everything, now he is the only one who knows that Charlotte is not French. Charlotte wants to take part of action, she wants to help the villagers in their resistance against the German invaders. She contacts with a man called Mirabel. He is going to help her to find Peter and she is going to some work for him. Charlotte is going to help Julien with a parachute drop. It is at night and a English aircraft is going to drop some boxes and everything went well. A while later she got another appointment with Mirabel. When she got there it was not Mirabel who was waiting for her but Benech. He is blackmailing her, he wants that she is coming to his house every night or he will betray the two little Jewish children. Charlotte went back to Levade and did not go to Benech. The next day Benech and the Germans went to Levade to arrest him. Benech said that he was Jewish and told to Julien that it was or his father or the children that were going to a camp. They decided that Levade goes to the camp. Benech reminds Charlotte about their appointment and she and Julien were locked up in the house. Fortunately they can escape. The fourth part: 1943
Charlotte went after their escape immediately to the boys, to move them to another place. Julien has to kill Benech, or else the children will be betrayed. Charlotte Goes to the children and moved them to an other house, in the mean time Julien goes after Benech and killed him. Charlotte and the two boys were found by the Germans and the boys were taken to a concentration camp. Julien has to hide himself because of his German enemies. Gregory is going to Spain and from there to Italy and Africa. There are his own troops who can send him back to England. Charlotte is also going back to England, but before she goes she wants to try to find Levade and the two boys. She goes to Paris and find the camp where they are. Unfortunately Levade is dead and the boys are already taken to another camp. When she is back in England she goes to her parents. Her father wants to know why Charlotte does not like her father. She does not know it but she can also not forgive him. Then she reminds something out her youth. Her father was a soldier in the first World War and traumatized, he had a difficult time after the war. What he did to Charlotte was crying in front of her and searching for comfort. For Charlotte was it not acceptable that she saw her father crying and puts it out of her memory. Now when Charlotte can reminds this she forgives her father and loves him again. When she is a couple of weeks in England with her parents she gets a phone call. It is Peter who is finally back in England. She goes back to London and met him for the first time after such a long time. They are very happy again and a beautiful couple. Charlotte also gets a letter from Julien to thank her for her help and that he is ok. Peter and Charlotte wants to go back to France when the time is there, to meet all their friends and thank them. After reading the book: In my opinion it is a wonderful book. I really enjoyed it to reading it. I saw the, as I said, movie before and it is not as good as the book is. Also the story in the movie is different, for example Charlotte goes in the movie back to Julien and not to Peter. I also liked the character Charlotte, she was a shy young woman that wants to mean something in wartime. She grows to an independent woman who knows exactly what she wants. And of course the love between Peter and Charlotte is very beautiful, it is so strong. I think that they both survived the war because of this strong love for each other. I can recommend this book to everyone who wants to read a novell about the war and love.
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