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The French Photographer: female war journalists in World War II

July 7, 2019 by Rebecca Bowyer 4 Comments

The French Photographer by Natasha Lester (sq)
The French Photographer, by Natasha Lester (Hachette Australia, 2019)

Natasha Lester’s wonderful new novel, The French Photographer, follows the fictional life of Jessica May from 1942 through to the current day.

Model turned war photojournalist, Jessica runs up against army men who consider it their job to keep women in their place – behind the front lines. They would prefer she report on food stamps and fashion shows rather than the women and children trapped on the frontline of a war they didn’t ask for.

Jessica May and her colleagues have other ideas.

While Jessica May is a fictional character inspired by the real journalist Lee Miller, The French Photographer is filled with other women who really did spend World War II fighting the U.S. Army for access to the front lines in western Europe.

Martha Gellhorn, Jessica’s friend in the novel, was a real journalist. She became the first female war correspondent to land in Normandy after illegally boarding a hospital ship to get there. Iris Carpenter, Lee Carson and Catherine Coyne are other prominent women journalists from World War II who fought army protocols to gain access to the war and report on more than the supposed glory of battle. They reported on camps such as Ravensbrück concentration camp (which imprisoned only women), Buchenwalk and Dachau.

Early on in the story, Martha tells Jess that if women reporters don’t make it through to the war proper, “we’ll only hear stories of men, told by men.”

We would never have heard the stories of the widespread rape of local women by both sides of the military. We might not know what life was like for nurses at front line hospitals, who worked under incredibly difficult conditions for months on end, under the constant threat of being bombed any moment.

The French Photographer is an excellent example of the growing popularity of historical fiction which tells the often lesser-known stories – those of women and children.

I always love reading Natasha Lester’s historical fiction novels because I know the incredible research she conducts to ensure the historical settings and events are as true to life as possible.

The French Photographer, however, is not just a book of history. It’s a story of enduring love between two people who did everything in their power to protect those they loved, to their own detriment.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy sweeping love stories with strong women, good men and plenty of historical detail.

Grab a copy from your favourite bookstore or online at:

Book Depository | Dymocks | Amazon (Kindle)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Australian Women Writers Challenge, book reviews, historical fiction

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Claire Louisa Holderness says

    July 8, 2019 at 8:52 am

    I can’t wait to finally get to this one.

    Reply
    • Doris Orvis says

      July 6, 2020 at 12:18 pm

      It was an awesome book. Fascinating the things that happened in WWII we never heard about. I know it was a book, but it was fact based. I don’t know how these women did it.

      Reply
  2. Michelle M. Dichter says

    July 10, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    I’m in the U.S. Was the Title changed to “The Paris Orphan”? I’m listening to the audio right now and I Love it! I am a new fan! Glad to hear I can look forward to more.
    Michelle D
    Girard, Pa. U.S.A

    Reply
    • Rebecca Bowyer says

      July 10, 2020 at 4:03 pm

      Hi Michelle, yes, that’s right! The French Photographer in Australia and The Paris Orphan everywhere else 🙂 The Paris Secret has just come out too, and it’s definitely the best yet! I stayed up super late reading it.
      Cheers,
      Rebecca

      Reply

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