“It’s fiction, but there has to be a grounding in truth.” Chris Lloyd, author of the Eddie Giral novels set in Paris in 1940, considers the delights — and the dilemmas — of using real people as characters in historical fiction. One of the biggest dilemmas I feel that historical fiction writers face is whether […]
Historia giveaway: Banquet of Beggars by Chris Lloyd
Historia is giving away copies of Banquet of Beggars by Chris Lloyd, the third in his Eddie Giral World War Two noir series! Five winners will each get a copy of Chris’s dark and atmospheric novel, set in Occupied Paris in 1940, as well as two exclusive extras: a special Parisian bookmark and a model […]
The Paris Muse by Louisa Treger
Paris, 1936, and when Dora Maar, a talented French photographer, painter and poet, is introduced to Pablo Picasso, she is mesmerized by his dark and intense stare. Drawn to his volcanic creativity, it isn’t long before she embarks on a passionate relationship with the Spanish artist that sometimes includes sadism and masochism and ultimately pushes […]
The surprising joys of armchair travel
The novelist Elizabeth Buchan usually looks forward to travelling to research a new novel. But when she became ill while starting work on her latest, Bonjour, Sophie, she had to rethink… A new novel to write usually triggers the anticipatory thrill of travelling for research. Many summers have seen me, rucksack on back, tracking down […]
Paris Requiem by Chris Lloyd
Paris in 1940. As the city adjusts to life under Nazi occupation, Detective Eddie Giral struggles to reconcile his job as a policeman with his new role enforcing a regime he cannot believe in but must work under. He’s sacrificed so much in order to survive in this new world, but the past is not […]
Historia giveaway: Chris Lloyd novels
Historia is giving away five prizes to celebrate Paris Requiem, Chris Lloyd’s World War Two noir novel, coming out in paperback! Five winners will each get copies of both of Chris’s Eddie Giral novels, set in the opening months of the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940. The first in the series, The Unwanted Dead, […]
Paris Requiem by Chris Lloyd
Paris, September 1940, and after three months under Nazi Occupation, not much can shock Detective Eddie Giral. That is, until he finds a murder victim who was supposed to be in prison. Eddie knows, because he put him there. The dead man is not the first or the last criminal being let loose onto the […]
The bureaux d’achats: how the Nazis bled France dry
After the fall of France, the occupying Nazi regime began to bleed the country dry through blatant financial exploitation. Parisians found even the most basic foodstuffs hard to get, largely because of the activities of the notorious bureaux d’achats. Chris Lloyd, author of Paris Requiem, explains what happened. “Ils nous prennent tout.” As Parisians queued […]