With the Stroke of a Pen: The Remarkable Life and Infamous Murder of Robert Denoel Book

Using sensitive documents recently unsealed by the French government, Staman explores the life of Robert Denoel from his dramatic rise in publishing to his mysterious murder in 1945. A man of contradictions, Denoel published the works of anti-Semitics alongside the works of Jews and Marxists. In fact, during the same month that he went on trial for Nazi collaboration, he won the most prestigious prize in French literature, The Goncourt, for his publication of a work by Elsa Triolet, a Russian Jew and an ardent supporter of the Nazi Resistance movement. How Denoels company was acquired after his death by his nemesis, Gaston Gallimard, involves a riveting tale of crime, murder, betrayal, and cover-up not often found even in fiction. Set against the colorful backdrop of Paris from the roaring 20s through the turbulent Nazi occupation years in the 30s to the post-war investigation, this is a riveting story of a fascinating man.Read More