Winner of the French Voices Prize, In the Shadow of the Fire traces the Paris Communards’ tragic odyssey, while following a breathless criminal investigation.

In 1871, the Paris Commune’s “bloody week” sees the  savage climax of the clashes between the Communards and the French Armed Forces loyal to Versailles. Amid the shrapnel and the chaos, while the entire west side of Paris is a field of ruins, a photographer fascinated by the suffering of young women takes “suggestive” photos to sell to a particular clientele. 

Then young women begin disappearing, and when Caroline, a seamstress who volunteers at a first aid station, is counted among the missing, her fiancé Nicolas, a member of the Commune’s National Guard, and Communal security officer Antoine set off independently in search of her. Their race against the clock to find her takes them through the shell-shocked streets of Paris, and introduces them to a cast of fascinating characters.

Praise for In the Shadow of the Fire

“From beginning to end of this dazzling novel, Le Corre deepens the shadows in his sooty, nocturnal Paris. Here and there, touches of color: the bloody red of the Communards’ flag, the incandescence of a fire, the flame of a hurricane lamp. Glimmers of hope flicker and don’t go out.”—Le Monde

“In a perfectly constructed historical frame, supported by breathless intrigue, Hervé Le Corre offers up a fascinating red and black novel. To be read passionately!”—aVoir-aLire

“A true history lesson served by extremely precise writing, In the Shadow of the Fire is an astounding epic in which the reader, constantly confronted with suffering, misery, and violence, is taken above all with the strength of the solidarity and heroism of ordinary people, and the infinite hope of those who believe to the end in the causes they are fighting for.”—L’Express

Hervé Le Corre
Hervé Le Corre was born in Paris and currently teaches in the suburbs of Bordeaux, France. He is the author of several crime fiction novels, including Talking to Ghosts (2014). He also writes for the literary magazine Le Passant Ordinaire.

• May 10 2021
  “Powerful.”
  — Historical Novels Society
• Mar 24 2021
  “Gripping.”
  — CrimeReads
• Jan 25 2021
  “...enthralling.“
  — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)