Annette Finley-Croswhite, director of the Center for Faculty Development and university professor in the Department of History, is pleased to announce the publication of her new book, Assassination in Vichy: Marx Dormoy and the Struggle for the Soul of France, co-authored with Gayle K. Brunelle and published by the University of Toronto Press.
The authors will hold a virtual book launch via Zoom on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. Chris Millington from Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom will moderate the event. Please register in advance.
About the book:
During the night of 25 July 1941, assassins planted a time bomb in the bed of the former French Interior Minister, Marx Dormoy. The explosion on the following morning launched a two-year investigation that traced Dormoy's murder to the highest echelons of the Vichy regime. Dormoy, who had led a 1937 investigation into the "Cagoule," a violent right-wing terrorist organization, was the victim of a captivating revenge plot. Based on the meticulous examination of thousands of documents, Assassination in Vichy tells the story of Dormoy's murder and the investigation that followed.
At the heart of this book lies a true crime that was sensational in its day. A microhistory that tells a larger and more significant story about the development of far-right political movements, domestic terrorism, and the importance of courage, Assassination in Vichy explores the impact of France's deep political divisions, wartime choices, and post-war memory. The book appeals to serious scholars of history as well as general readers. It is an excellent choice for use in college classrooms for courses on wartime history and culture during the World War II period.