Charlotte Gray

Zusatztext "A miraculous novel. . . . Faulks is a master indeed." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Eloquent and moving. . . . A page turner for grown-ups! a novel with the rich detail of a great historical narrative." - The Baltimore Sun "There is no shortage of dramatic tension! excitement or persuasive detail [in Charlotte Gray ]. . . .  Mr. Faulks is a prodigiously talented writer." -- The New York Times "This powerful novel...explodes into an immensely gripping tale." -- The Wall Street Journal "What begins as a conventional love story becomes an adventure of the spirit... Charlotte Gray has depth and texture." -- The Washington Post Informationen zum Autor Sebastian Faulks Klappentext New York Times bestseller by award-winning author of Birdsong Charlotte Gray tells the remarkable story of a young Scottish woman who becomes caught up in the effort to liberate Occupied France from the Nazis while pursuing a perilous mission of her own. In blacked-out, wartime London, Charlotte Gray develops a dangerous passion for a battle-weary RAF pilot, and when he fails to return from a daring flight into France she is determined to find him. In the service of the Resistance, she travels to the village of Lavaurette, dyeing her hair and changing her name to conceal her identity. Here she will come face-to-face with the harrowing truth of what took place during Europe's darkest years, and will confront a terrifying secret that threatens to cast its shadow over the remainder of her days. Vividly rendered, tremendously moving, and with a narrative sweep and power reminiscent of his novel Birdsong , Charlotte Gray confirms Sebastian Faulks as one of the finest novelists working today.Peter Gregory kicked the door of the dispersal hut closed behind him with the heel of his boot. He sensed the iciness of the air outside but was too well wrapped to feel it on his skin. He looked up and saw a big moon hanging still, while ragged clouds flew past and broke up like smoke in the darkness. He began to waddle across the grass, each step won from the limits of movement permitted by the parachute that hung down behind as he bucked and tossed his way forward. He heard the clank of the corporal fitter's bicycle where it juddered over the ground to his right. The chain needed oiling, he noted; the man was in the wrong gear and a metal mudguard was catching on the tyre with a rhythmic slur as the wheel turned. He could see the bulk of his plane ahead, large in the night, with the three-bladed propeller stopped at a poised diagonal, the convex sweep of the upper fuselage looking sleeker in the darkness than by day. The fitter dropped his bicycle to the ground. He made his way over in the light of a feeble torch which he gripped between his teeth as he helped, with both hands braced against his parachute, to push Gregory up onto the wing. Then he clambered up himself as Gregory hoisted a leg over the side of the cockpit and slithered down inside. "God, it's cold," said the fitter. "My hands can't feel a thing. This north wind." Gregory switched on the instrument lighting and settled onto the sculpted metal seat, trying to make himself comfortable on his parachute. The fitter was talking as Gregory's eyes went over the lit dials. "My boy's got this cough. I don't know what I can do about it, stuck down here. Oxygen?" The engine was started and the man was off the wing. He bobbed about underneath, then stood clear as Gregory ran up the engine before signalling him to pull out the chocks that held the plane against the wind. Gregory saw him hold up the torch when at la.st he straightened and picked up his fallen bicycle; he gave him a minute to pedal his way back to the fug of the blacked-out mess, to sweet tea and cigarettes. Then he opened the throttle and let the little plane creep forw...

Product details

• Authors: Sebastian Faulks
• Publisher: Vintage USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 11.07.2000
• EAN: 9780375704550
• ISBN: 978-0-375-70455-0
• No. of pages: 416
• Dimensions: 132 mm x 202 mm x 22 mm
• Series: Vintage International; Vintage International
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature