Monday, November 16, 2020
1:00pm Central
in partnership with Federation of Alliances Françaises USA
In English

Join us for a discussion with Harriet Welty Rochefort, author of the newly released Final Transgression.

Two sisters, two different destinies. In Final Transgression, 85-year-old Caroline Aubry tells the tale of the tragic wartime destiny of her beloved younger sister, Séverine. From their humble beginnings in a hamlet in the southwest of France to a château where Séverine becomes the protegée of the beautiful countess who employs their parents, their trajectories differ. After they move to Paris, the pragmatic Caroline becomes a successful designer and the high-spirited Severine marries a rich jeweler. When WW2 breaks out and her collaborationist husband betrays her, the headstrong Séverine flees to the chateau and the countess –– in spite of warnings about the risk of traveling to an area that is a fierce battleground for rival groups of résistants, Nazis and collaborators. Séverine is beautiful, intelligent but obstinate – and that obstinacy will ultimately seal her fate. The end of the war in France was a time for settling scores. Séverine, an ordinary woman living in extraordinary times, unwittingly hands the hangman’s noose to her enemies in one egregious act—her final transgression.

Harriet Welty Rochefort grew up in Iowa, traveled to France after graduating from college, and never left. She is the author of three nonfiction books about the French: French Toast, French Fried and Joie de Vivre, all published by St. Martin’s Press. A freelance journalist writing on business, culture, travel and lifestyle for major newspapers and magazines, she taught in the international journalism program at the prestigious Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and regularly speaks on Franco-American cultural differences to various university study programs and other groups. Final Transgression is her first work of fiction. Harriet lives with her French husband, Philippe, in Paris. Her website is www.harrietweltyrochefort.com

This event is free for AFJ and AATF members. Please use the link below to register; if you are not a member, you can also join at this time.