Remembrance of Norway

Sometimes a book whose history covers a dramatic period in one's own life, can act as a catalyst for a shower of thoughts and reminiscences. Such was the impact on me of Francois Kersaudy's recent book Norway 1940 (Collins, 1990). Kersaudy may be counted as an Anglo-French historian since he is convincingly bilingual in his native language and in English. Born in Paris in 1948, he studied Political Science and travelled abroad working for his Sorbonne doctorate in Contemporary History. He was clearly fascinated by the Second World War period. His three years as a Research Fellow at Keble College, Oxford, gave him an added advantage, at a time when English archive material about the War was progressively released.

His first publication in English, Churchill and de Gaulle (Collins, 1981) demonstrates his command of his international researches. He deservedly received the Yorkshire Post 'Book of the Year Award' in the category 'Best First Book'. The elegance of his style was appreciated and his archival scholarship and working knowledge of eight languages was admired. By 1981 Kersaudy had already published in France two works focused on Norway.