The Lost Girls of Paris: A Novel

As a work of historical fiction that is based on true stories, The Lost Girls of Paris is designed to honor aspects of history that are often forgotten. The vital nature of this goal is chiefly reflected through Grace and Eleanor’s storylines, for they are both dedicated to uncovering the truth of the missing agents’ fates during the war. Through an exhaustive process of research, interviews, and other forms of sleuthing, the women’s efforts reflect the broader quest that all historians undertake, and they successfully pierce the web of secrecy surrounding the true story of the SOE agents’ activities in Nazi-occupied France. Both protagonists have a personal interest in the stories and are deeply invested in preserving the true events for posterity. Their experiences highlight the difficulties in honoring such events over time. Grace, for example, misinterprets the transmission sent to London from the Nazi SD officer, mistakenly believing that it proves Eleanor’s guilt and betrayal. Only Grace’s persistence enables her to set the record straight, clearing Eleanor’s name and preserving the truth for the benefit of future generations.

The Lost Girls of Paris is particularly dedicated to investigating how history remembers the lives of underrepresented, oppressed, and marginalized groups. Specifically, the novel highlights the political and social forces that stand in the way of honoring the memory of women during wartime. Eleanor initially wants to recruit women as SOE agents because she knows that women are often underestimated and overlooked. Her perception on this matter is accurate, but ironically, it is also true that her own government easily overlooks the agents as well. Because they are women, the female SOE agents do not have official roles in the military, and their families are never informed of their deployment to Europe to aid in the war effort. They also lack the commissions, honors, and titles that their male counterparts enjoy, and as a result, when they go missing, there is no recognition or recourse for their families. As Marie explains to Grace, “Then I went home. […] There was no one to meet me. I wasn’t expecting a parade; no one knew that I was coming” (348). For these complex reasons, Eleanor is zealous in her ardent efforts to gain official recognition for her female agents so that their sacrifices will be honored and remembered.

The Nazi program Nacht und Nebel (“Night and Fog”) plays a prominent role in the plot, and the author uses this detail to emphasize the complexity of the issues that obstruct efforts to accurately record historical events. This program was specifically designed to make people like Marie and her SOE colleagues disappear without a trace. The Nazis attempted to cement their ideological control in Europe by erasing all proof of resistance. For this reason, SOE agents, French resistance members, and others fighting against the Nazis were quietly condemned to languish in prisons and camps, and they were often killed before their presence could be officially recorded. The Nazis’ cruel efforts in this matter reflect one of the many obstacles to ensuring historical accuracy. In the case of Eleanor and her investigation, only eyewitness accounts have survived to confirm the fates of several of the missing SOE agents who were killed under Nacht und Nebel. The significance of these eyewitness reports echoes the novel’s greater message that individuals must often take it upon themselves to bring the full story of key events to light.