LENOX, Mass. — The Lenox Library will host Carolyn Kay Brancato, author of "The Night Belongs to the Maquis:" A World War II Novel in conversation with Bill Everhart, former Editorial Page Editor of The Berkshire Eagle on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.

 

This program will be held in person as well as on Zoom. Webinar details may be found on the Library's website at https://lenoxlib.org. The event is free and open to the public. Books also will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of The Bookstore.

 

According to a press release, "In The Night Belongs to the Maquis," Brancato weaves a tapestry of courage by ordinary people who rise to face the evil of Nazi occupation. Set in the small village of Foix, in the vivid Pyrénées of Southern France, the novel follows the dramatic, suspenseful journey of the Maquis, a band of resistance fighters shepherding Allied pilots to safety across the mountains.

 

While a work of fiction, Brancato based many events in the novel on personal interviews she conducted some years ago with three members of the French Resistance (the Maquis). One was the leader of the circuit that escorted 500 Allied pilots over the Pyrénées and into Spain. He was captured by the Gestapo, tortured by Klaus Barbie, and personally gave Brancato his deposition in the Barbie trial in Lyon, asking her to please tell the story of his compatriots in the resistance. 

 

Carolyn Kay Brancato writes historical fiction. She has worked in theatre as a director and playwright and her plays have been mounted at such venues as Steppenwolf in Chicago and the John Houseman Theatre in New York City. She earned her B.A. from Barnard College and a Ph.D. from NYU. 

 

Carolyn lives in the Berkshires with her husband; together they were among the founders of The Guild of Berkshire Artists.