The Englishman's Daughter

Book excerpt: A “remarkable” (The New York Times Book Review) account of four British soldiers forced into hiding in a French village during World War I, and the mystery left behind in their wake—from the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor and The Siege. “Gripping, illuminating . . . Everything comes alive . . . the feuds, the village characters [and] the hunger of the winter of 1914.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review In the first terrifying days of World War I, four British soldiers found themselves trapped behind enemy lines on the western front. They were forced to hide in the tiny French village of Villeret, whose inhabitants made the courageous decision to shelter the fugitives until they could pass as Picard peasants. This is the never-before-told story of these extraordinary men, their protectors, and of the haunting love affair between Private Robert Digby and Claire Dessenne, the most beautiful woman in Villeret. Their passion would result in the birth of a child known as “The Englishman’s Daughter,” and in an act of unspeakable betrayal, a tragic legacy that would haunt the village for generations to come. Through the testimonies of the villagers and the last letters of the soldiers, New York Times bestselling author Ben Macintyre has pieced together a harrowing account of how life was lived behind enemy lines during the Great War, and offers a compelling solution to a gripping mystery that reverberates to this day.