Le Dernier inventeur | Héloïse Guay de Bellissen

EAN : 9782221241097

Shaping : BROCHE

Pages : 234

Size : 1 x 215 mm

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The Last Discoverer

Héloïse Guay de Bellissen

Release date : 20/08/2020

At just 13, he went down in history for discovering the most beautiful prehistoric cave paintings the world has ever seen. Then history wanted to annihilate him.

September 1940. The Lascaux cave complex, dubbed “the Sistine Chapel of Prehistory,” is discovered by four boys looking for treasure not far from the village of Montignac. In a France traumatized by defeat, this event is a breath of fresh air, something to be proud of, and the four young... September 1940. The Lascaux cave complex, dubbed “the Sistine Chapel of Prehistory,” is discovered by four boys looking for treasure not far from the village of Montignac. In a France traumatized by defeat, this event is a breath of fresh air, something to be proud of, and the four young “discoverers,” become heroes overnight. Among them is a 13-year-old boy from Paris named Simon Coencas. His family took refuge in Montignac, in the department of Dordogne, just before France declared war on Nazi Germany. Not long after the happy days following the cave’s discovery, Simon leaves Free France and returns to the now-occupied capital. His life will then be turned upside down once more, this time by tragedy. The Coencas are Jewish. Simon’s father is denounced by an employee of one of the clothing stores he owns and deported to Auschwitz. His wife will soon follow. Then it’s Simon’s turn to be interned at Drancy. He will be liberated a month later due to his age, because at that time, in France, only Jews over fifteen are sent to the death camps. Simon takes refuge at his aunt’s house, then is hidden by a Jewish organization. He will survive the war, but will never see his parents again. How, in one lifetime, can a boy be considered a national, if not global, hero, and then a few months later be interned, deprived of his rights, lose his parents, and narrowly escape death? Enthralled by the Lascaux cave paintings, Héloïse Guay de Bellissen wanted to meet the last living discoverer. She fell in love with the 90-year-old man, who told her all his secrets, and who inspired her latest novel.

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Voir la fiche produit

EAN : 9782221241097

Shaping : BROCHE

Pages : 234

Size : 1 x 215 mm

See the product page