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An Act of Treachery
Catherine Dessin is 15 and still at convent school when the Germans enter Paris in 1940. Her parents are patriots and she is taught to hate the enemy, but two years later she falls in love with a senior and married German officer, defying the anger of her family and friends.Catherine grows up abruptly when Klaus, the German officer, realizes the evil of the regime he is serving. Klaus now struggles with his own conflict of loyalties—between Catherine and his family and between his patriotic duty and his hatred of Nazism.
257 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 20, 2020
I thought this book was a different take on a storyline set in WW2, with the main feature being a rmoance between a young French girl and a German Officer, a situation fraught with danger and taboo in those times but it also very much set the scene for the time in the occupation of Paris. To some extent the end of the affair one way or another isnt a new concept, but i did very much find myself absorbed in the book very quickly
October 4, 2016
Quite possibly one of the worst novels I have ever read. I had a signed copy, which we used to prop up the fridge in our flat as that was the best use for it.
December 12, 2017
This is the story of one family in Paris during its occupation by Nazi Germany in WWII. Catherine is only 15 and still at school and lives with her patriotic family. Her world is turned upside down when she breaks curfew one night and meets the charismatic German officer Klaus von Ströbel and her life will change for ever.
It was an enjoyable read and showed that there was good and bad on both sides of the war. It's not black and white. Although she is young Catherine is very naive and doesn't seem to understand why her family and the wider community turn against her as she becomes more involved other the Germans. The end felt very rushed and I felt cheated that the story wasn't developed more.
It was an enjoyable read and showed that there was good and bad on both sides of the war. It's not black and white. Although she is young Catherine is very naive and doesn't seem to understand why her family and the wider community turn against her as she becomes more involved other the Germans. The end felt very rushed and I felt cheated that the story wasn't developed more.
February 27, 2022
This is essentially a love story
Our protagonist Catherine starts the story as a 15 yr old, and we follow her through the war when she lives in occupied Paris. We see her fall in love with a German officer & all of the issues that come with that. He is not only the enemy, but married!
The story doesn’t quite go where you might expect which was nice, but I found the middle of the story repetitive and slow.
Overall, it was an enjoyable, if somewhat slow, read that shows that there was good and bad on both sides of the war.
Our protagonist Catherine starts the story as a 15 yr old, and we follow her through the war when she lives in occupied Paris. We see her fall in love with a German officer & all of the issues that come with that. He is not only the enemy, but married!
The story doesn’t quite go where you might expect which was nice, but I found the middle of the story repetitive and slow.
Overall, it was an enjoyable, if somewhat slow, read that shows that there was good and bad on both sides of the war.
July 15, 2017
More a 3.5 star read. Basically a love story set in a time of war it makes some very cogent points about those deemed enemies by Governments. Romance is not a genre I'm fond of and this story did occasionally tip over the line of soppiness which might seem a little surprising given the public persona of the author. However in general it was an entertaining read even if the ending was more than a trifle unlikely but reading (or listening as I did) is certainly not a waste of time
November 5, 2022
So much to talk about but if I did, I would give away a key plotline, needless to saythere is more than one act of treachery in the whole story.
June 23, 2014
Ann Noreen Widdecombe DSG was born in Bath, England, on 4 October, 1947. DSG is The Order of St. Gregory the Great: one of the five Orders of Knighthood of the Holy See. This special honour is bestowed on Roman Catholic men and women as a result of their personal service to the Roman Catholic Church through their unusual efforts and their excellent examples set forth in their communities and their countries.
Ms Widdecombe was educated at the Royal Naval School in Singapore and at La Sainte Union Convent School in Bath. She read Latin at Birmingham University, Birmingham, England and then attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, PPE. The author then worked for Unilever and later as an administrator at the University of London before she entered the House of Commons in the UK as a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party.
Ms Widdecombe retired from Parliament at the 2010 election, and has been an author since 2000. Since 2002 she has also made numerous television and radio appearances, including as a television presenter.
An Act of Treachery is the first book by this author that I have read. I liked the title, recognised her name and it was being sold at a bargain price by the charity shop in the village. The story is about a teenage girl, Catherine Dessin who attends a convent school when the German Army enter Paris, France, in 1940. She comes from a close family and her parents are very patriotic. Although she is taught good values and to hate the enemy, she falls in love with a married German officer. Although they disapprove, Catherine’s parents allow the relationship to continue for reasons of their own.
Four years later when the German’s are defeated Catherine’s German lover, Klaus, arranges with her parents that she should leave Paris. He fears she would be accused of being a collaborator if she stays. She is sent to stay in a village with a distant cousin who has never been mentioned previously. It is there she discovers she is expecting the Klaus’s baby and that her lover has been killed in an air raid.
Although this is an interesting take on life in Paris during World War II, I did not find it a gripping as I had expected. Although Catherine has a Jewish friend who disappears with her whole family, their fate is glossed over with a very broad brush. I never felt any real danger for the characters during their relationship. However, I was not swept off my feet by the love affair, either. I also found the ending a bit predictable. It is a short book, so may be worth reading for a view of life at that time. Still, I could not recommend it unconditionally, nor would I particularly seek out another work by this author.
Ms Widdecombe was educated at the Royal Naval School in Singapore and at La Sainte Union Convent School in Bath. She read Latin at Birmingham University, Birmingham, England and then attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, PPE. The author then worked for Unilever and later as an administrator at the University of London before she entered the House of Commons in the UK as a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party.
Ms Widdecombe retired from Parliament at the 2010 election, and has been an author since 2000. Since 2002 she has also made numerous television and radio appearances, including as a television presenter.
An Act of Treachery is the first book by this author that I have read. I liked the title, recognised her name and it was being sold at a bargain price by the charity shop in the village. The story is about a teenage girl, Catherine Dessin who attends a convent school when the German Army enter Paris, France, in 1940. She comes from a close family and her parents are very patriotic. Although she is taught good values and to hate the enemy, she falls in love with a married German officer. Although they disapprove, Catherine’s parents allow the relationship to continue for reasons of their own.
Four years later when the German’s are defeated Catherine’s German lover, Klaus, arranges with her parents that she should leave Paris. He fears she would be accused of being a collaborator if she stays. She is sent to stay in a village with a distant cousin who has never been mentioned previously. It is there she discovers she is expecting the Klaus’s baby and that her lover has been killed in an air raid.
Although this is an interesting take on life in Paris during World War II, I did not find it a gripping as I had expected. Although Catherine has a Jewish friend who disappears with her whole family, their fate is glossed over with a very broad brush. I never felt any real danger for the characters during their relationship. However, I was not swept off my feet by the love affair, either. I also found the ending a bit predictable. It is a short book, so may be worth reading for a view of life at that time. Still, I could not recommend it unconditionally, nor would I particularly seek out another work by this author.
January 6, 2011
There are 2 books in this series “An Act of Treachery” is the first the next one in “An Act of Peace”.
Catherine Dessin tells her story as she looks back on the past. She was 16 when she and her sister Annette watched the German’s march into Paris in 1940. One night a couple of years later she and her friends were caught out after curfew and Catherine and her friend Bette were brought before Colonel Klaus von Strobel, he let them off with a warning. They met by accident a couple of weeks later and from then on they met on a regular basis. Catherine’s parents were not very happy about this as Klaus was married with 3 children and he was also 25 years older than Catherine, but they had their own reasons for allowing the relationship to continue without too much fuss.
Four years later, the German’s had been defeated and Klaus arranged through Catherine’s parents for her to leave Paris because of what would happen to her afterwards if she remained as she would be accused of collaborating with the enemy. Catherine was sent to stay with a distant cousin who lived in a small village, it was there that she discovered she was pregnant – she kept her son and named him Klaus-Pierre. Not long after she arrived she also found out that Klaus had been killed in an air raid.
The next book continues the story with Klaus-Pierre telling it. I actually enjoyed the second book more but this was good to fill in the gaps.
Catherine Dessin tells her story as she looks back on the past. She was 16 when she and her sister Annette watched the German’s march into Paris in 1940. One night a couple of years later she and her friends were caught out after curfew and Catherine and her friend Bette were brought before Colonel Klaus von Strobel, he let them off with a warning. They met by accident a couple of weeks later and from then on they met on a regular basis. Catherine’s parents were not very happy about this as Klaus was married with 3 children and he was also 25 years older than Catherine, but they had their own reasons for allowing the relationship to continue without too much fuss.
Four years later, the German’s had been defeated and Klaus arranged through Catherine’s parents for her to leave Paris because of what would happen to her afterwards if she remained as she would be accused of collaborating with the enemy. Catherine was sent to stay with a distant cousin who lived in a small village, it was there that she discovered she was pregnant – she kept her son and named him Klaus-Pierre. Not long after she arrived she also found out that Klaus had been killed in an air raid.
The next book continues the story with Klaus-Pierre telling it. I actually enjoyed the second book more but this was good to fill in the gaps.
July 1, 2016
This is the love story of a younger girl and an older married man, told from the girl’s point of view. What makes it all the more complicated is that the setting is Paris in WWII, the girl is French and the man is an officer in the German occupation force.
It shows how their relationship develops and progresses and how her family gradually reject her.
This is a good solid story well written and easy to read with a nice rounded ending that was satisfyingly tied up if a little predictable.
But is was not really gripping. I never felt the story pulling me along nor did I ever feeling that the protagonists were in true danger. And I never felt swept off my feet by their love affair.
A pleasant read for a day sunning yourself in the garden.
It shows how their relationship develops and progresses and how her family gradually reject her.
This is a good solid story well written and easy to read with a nice rounded ending that was satisfyingly tied up if a little predictable.
But is was not really gripping. I never felt the story pulling me along nor did I ever feeling that the protagonists were in true danger. And I never felt swept off my feet by their love affair.
A pleasant read for a day sunning yourself in the garden.
October 31, 2012
An interesting take on the World War II German occupation of France in this nvoel by Ann Widdecombe. Catherine is a Parisian 15 year old who gradually falls in love with the older Klaus, a married German officer. Watching Catherine struggle with her emerging womanhood and the horror and betrayal felt by her friends and family makes one again wonder at the black and white world most of us believe in. Klaus turns out to be a hero, Catherine's resistance working parents turn out to be cruel and selfish, and Catherine is thrown into a world where her illegitimate son by Klaus grows up being hated and abused for his heritage. Interesting characters in a web of conflicting loyalties makes for compulsive reading.
July 24, 2012
This novel painted a vivid picture of Paris during the German occupation of World War II. It tells the tale of a young French girl's passionate affair with a married German officer and her family's rejection of her. She comes over as both foolish, yet incredibly courageous. It is a relationship that she and her lover feel compelled to continue, despite the danger to them both. I can't say more without spoilers, so will just highly recommend it as such a worthwhile read that you'll want to move on to its sequel straight after.
October 10, 2011
loved it!
August 7, 2015
The story of Catherine and klaus gave a different view of the war. I found an act of treachery to be intriguing and enjoyable.
August 20, 2025
Re-reads:
10-13 November 2018
19-21 August 2025
10-13 November 2018
19-21 August 2025
July 7, 2016
I enjoyed this book - well written and believable
August 28, 2017
A very interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews