When Paris Went Dark

A riveting account of one of the most resonant hostage-takings in history: the 1,500 days when a swastika flew from the Eiffel Tower … an intimate, sweeping narrative, astute in its insight and chilling in its rich detail - Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra, A Great Improvisation, and Vera

Ron Rosbottom has recreated the Parisian world during the dark days of the German occupation like no previous writer I know. His secret is two-fold: first, exhaustive research that allows him to recover what we might call the importance of the ordinary; and second, a shrewd grasp of how memory works - Joseph J. Ellis, Ford Foundation Professor Emeritus at Mount Holyoke College, author of Founding Brothers, American Sphinx, and Revolutionary Summer

When Paris Went Dark recounts, through countless compelling stories, how Nazi occupation drained the light from Paris and how many of its residents resisted in ways large and small. This is a rich work of history, a brilliant recounting of how hope can still flourish in the rituals of daily life - Scott Turow

His book’s main strength is the sense it gives of how ordinary Parisians coped, but it is also excellent on youth culture, the divisions that marked the Jewish community’s response to persecution, the toxic aftermath of liberation, and the mythologies that quickly arose around the war years - Observer

A sombre, but riveting read, a stark reminder of the divisive nightmare of occupation - Country Life

Exposes the manifold instances of French cowardice and duplicity while not exaggerating rare moments of heroism - The Times

An admirable background study - Church Times

[Rosbottom’s] lively writing, wide research and obvious affection for the city makes for a fascinating read - BBC History Magazine