The Anchored Heart
By
$2.50
HARCOURT, BRACE
IDA TREAT lived for fourteen years on an island off the coast of Brittany, and married a Breton sea captain. This book is an account of the war as it came to the island, and of the islanders who lived and are living through it. It can be very warmly recommended to all who love France and believe in her resurrection. It leaves the reader with the conviction that it will take more than Hitler and Pétain and Darlan to down the people of Brittany, or to rob them of their courage, their integrity, and their wit. First we are introduced to the island in peacetime, to the houses and the villagers, more especially to Marie-Anaik, the embodiment and symbol of the Breton character. Then we watch the coming of the war: the events of the early months, with the island transformed into a cheerful military camp; then the growing fear, the tear of a dim shadow of something unknown and sinister, which soon turned to the knowledge of disaster. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the description of the German occupation, and the comparison of the German and French psychology in the various incidents which occur —all told with the greatest humor and insight. The account of the preparations for the invasion of Britain, with the fear of the German peasant troops for the sea, is revealing and significant.
E. D.