I found the novel "Charlotte Gray" a truly impressive rendering of the lives of specific individuals during the Second World War in France. All of the characters were vivid, and Faulks delved into the personality and motivations of each one. Charlotte is a young Scottish …more woman living in blacked-out London when she makes the acquaintance of Richard Cannerley, who hints that with her knowledge of the French language and her passion of France, she would make a good agent or courier. In London, she also meets Peter Gregory, a young RAF pilot who has grown weary of the war, and embarks on a passionate love affair with him. When Gregory's plane is lost somewhere over France, Charlotte decides to become an agent in France in the hopes of being able to find and rescue Gregory. Once in France, Charlotte becomes caught up in the resistance movement taking place there, and she decides to stay on to become an active member against the Nazi occupation. In France, she meets a number of compelling characters, including Julien Levade, a young resistance fighter with whom she works closely, and M. Levade, Julien's father. This novel neatly ties together the events and impact of the war in France, while also exploring the characters involved. It is difficult to find fault with it, though in the end I couldn't help but wish Charlotte had given her love to a different character with whom I thought she had better chemistry. Nevertheless, "Charlotte Gray" is a novel I highly recommend. (less)