In the Shadow of the Fire

As the Paris Commune is destroyed, a Communard searches the embattled city for his missing fiancé in this prize-winning novel: “an astounding epic” (L’Express, FR).

Paris, 1871. The Paris Commune has taken control of the French capitol, but the Communards now face a savage conflict against the French Armed Forces loyal to Versailles in what will come to be known as The Bloody Week. Amid the shrapnel and chaos, while the entire west side of Paris is a field of ruins, a photographer fascinated by the suffering of young women takes “suggestive” photos to sell to a particular clientele.

Then young women begin disappearing, and when a seamstress who volunteers at a first aid station, is counted among the missing, her fiancé—a member of the Commune’s National Guard—scours the city for her. Joined in the search by a Communal security officer, their race against the clock takes them through the shell-shocked streets of Paris, and introduces them to a cast of fascinating characters.

Winner of the French Voices Prize