the story

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Inspired by actual events, The Paris Photo tells the story of American soldier Ben Gordon and his relationship with a young mother and her son just after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. Despite the strength of this connection during the war, it involves a forbidden love. Ben’s eventual return to America separates the trio. Decades later, Ben’s daughter stitches the relationship together when she discovers a photograph of her late father with an unknown woman and boy. Eager to learn about her father’s past, she decides to travel to Paris to find the people from the photograph. The Paris Photo lifts characters out of pages from the past, treats them with compassion, and richly depicts the human emotion that pervades our historical memory.

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The Paris Photo appeals to lovers of historical fiction, particularly those with an interest in WWII. It creates a vivid picture of life in Paris during the dark days of the Nazi occupation, as well as the contemporary city that still bears evidence from the war. Interweaving mystery, romance, and historical research, The Paris Photo shows how the traumas of wartime loss persist into the present.