But if he's clever enough, he'll avoid any trouble. Never have we read a book about architecture that really told the story of the buildings in this way – their soul, their spirit and their secrets.The New York Times Bestseller 'A beautiful and elegant account of an ordinary man's unexpected and reluctant descent into heroism during the second world war.' -Malcolm Gladwell An extraordinary novel about a gifted architect who reluctantly begins a secret life devising ingenious hiding places for Jews in World War II Paris, from an author who's been called 'an up and coming Ken Follett.' (Booklist) In 1942 Paris, gifted architect Lucien Bernard accepts a commission that will bring him a great deal of money - and maybe get him killed.

This deserves to be a book and a film as it really is a fascinating story. Everyone wants a piece of him and his novel and quite frankly we’re not surprised. It tells a history of the family that you can’t see in the rooms below.Īnd with that, Charles is whisked away and questioned further. The attic because this is where people discard things they can’t bear to throw away.

What’s your favourite or most fascinating aspect of a house and why? Wealthy people with small houses aren’t insecure. If the interior is done by a decorator then the people are insecure especially if the decorator chooses the art on the walls. What do you think a house can tell about the people who live there?įirst, if the house is extremely big, the people are insecure about their social position and have to show off. Your second novel is about an architect forced to join a criminal gang and infiltrate high society mansions. I did a book on the architecture of banks. Which building do you admire in this sense and which would you love to see for yourself? Historic preservation is important to you. I enjoyed having an architect as the main character because I know how architects think. Was it fascinating for you to weave your subject into a novel of such historical significance? I got books on occupied Paris and what life was like so I could incorporate the details into the story. I wanted to write fiction that had architecture as part of the plot. I transposed the idea to World War II Paris. The premise was based on priest holes from Elizabethan England when priests were banned from saying mass. The hiding places never existed and I never found an architect who did that. Was your novel based on true facts at all? Your book tells the story of a men preparing to hide Jews from the Nazis.

The paris architect by charles belfoure