Title: Claude and Madeleine :
Authors: Marriott, Edward,
Date: 2005
Publisher: Picador,
Physical description: 343 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
Language: English
LC classification: U
Abstract: "When Claude Peri and Madeleine Bayard meet in Indochina in the 1930s, they fall immediately and passionately in love. They become soulmaters and lovers, working together on missions in Vietnam and Japanese-occupied China as spies for the French government." "Returning to Paris in 1939, they witness at first hand their country's capitulation to the German army. Appalled and ashamed, they flee to Marseilles and seize control of SS Le Rhin. Aboard this vessel, from which they've been working as sabotage experts since the outbreak of war, their remarkable adventures continue. After a violent struggle for control of the ship, in which Claude almost loses his life, they sail to Gibraltar and throw in their lot with the British." "Using charm, force of personality and, on occasion, threats of violence, Claude and Madeleine gradually gain access to the highest levels of British intelligence. With Claude now a Royal Navy commander, and Madeleine a cipher officer in the WRNS, they are seconded to the Special Operations Executive. HMS Fidelity sets out on tours of the Mediterranean, dropping off spies and picking up escaped prisoners of war. Madeleine undergoes further training in unarmed combat, sabotage and explosives. Claude, meanwhile, continues his ambitious climb through the ranks of the Royal Navy, winning all manner of impressive weaponry for his ship: floatplanes, a torpedo boat, depth charges, even a detachment of Royal Marines Commandos." "Eventually, in 1942, Claude and Madeleine head back to the Far East, into combat against the Japanese, on what will be their final, most heroic campaign."--BOOK JACKET.
Subject headings (LCSH): Bayard, Madeleine Victorine, 1911-1942.; Bayard, Madeleine.; France--History--German occupation, 1940-1945.; Peri, Claude.; Péri, Claude André Michel, 1908-1942.; Spies--France--Biography.; World War, 1939-1945--Secret service--Great Britain.