STRENGTH OF OUR SISTERS
What would you have done? Exploring the wartime story of Christian Dior’s sister made Christine Wells confront the question posed by so many gripping novels.
School reunions. Love them or hate them, those decades keep ticking over, reminding us to take stock of our lives. I attended a girls’ school, and with our 30-year reunion approaching, the women of my year are all in our 40s.
By now, each of us has dealt with many challenges, some triumphs, a few heartbreaks and several life-changing decisions. Like school reunions, life just keeps coming at us whether we like it or not, forcing us to grow and adapt.
Re-connecting with so many of my school friends and hearing their personal stories of success, struggle, love and loss has led me to marvel at the resilience of women. Regardless of our differences, that is a bond we all share.
It’s this brand of courage that I explore in my historical novels. In the course of my research, I’m constantly inspired by stories of real women who have suffered at the hands of history, who have risen up against oppression, who have fought huge personal battles and won.
Each book I write makes me question my own capabilities and courage.
My new novel, Sisters of the Resistance, forced me to confront the dilemma: as a young woman in Nazi-occupied Paris, what would I have done?
We would all like to think we’d have joined the resistance on day one, that we’d have stood up to the Nazis even if it meant arrest, torture, and death.
But would we?
When the Nazis marched into Paris in 1940, it looked like they were there to stay. They had overrun Europe and driven off the British at Dunkirk. Many French citizens foresaw no end to the regime that had established dominion over every aspect of their lives. What could they do?
The answer to that differed from person to person. Some resisted in small ways, others remained determinedly passive. Many took the pragmatic view that a little co-operation would keep them alive until the time came to rise up. Some actively collaborated with the enemy and informed on their fellow citizens. Others did the Nazis’ dirty work for them, arresting, torturing and murdering Jews and resistance agents.
A very few, like Catherine Dior, sacrificed everything to help free France.
Catherine was the beloved younger sister of fashion designer Christian Dior, but she was so much more.
Joining the British-sponsored Franco-Polish intelligence unit in
July 1943, Catherine typed intelligence reports and acted as a courier, often travelling up from the south of France to pass intelligence to her contacts in
Paris.
Catherine Dior was an ordinary 26-year-old woman, but every moment she was part of the resistance, she risked her life for the cause.
When I first read about Catherine Dior a few years ago, I wondered why I’d never heard about her before. I became determined to shine a light on Catherine’s incredible story.
Sisters of the Resistance is told through the eyes of two sisters, Gabby and Yvette, who are drawn into the resistance movement by Catherine Dior and bear witness to the enormous sacrifices Catherine made.
Through these women, I explore different kinds of courage. Gabby is a reluctant participant, driven by personal loyalty to take part in the struggle. Her younger sister, Yvette, is hot-tempered and impulsive and throws herself into resistance work with scant regard for the consequences.
Both of them are foils for the quiet determination of Catherine Dior.
As I discovered all I could about Catherine, I admired her more and more. Though fiercely proud of her brother Christian and protective of his legacy, Catherine never sought to share in his fame. Despite receiving several medals for her resistance work, Catherine was reticent about her wartime experiences. She was happiest digging away in her garden in the south of France, growing the flowers both she and Christian loved.
Would I have joined the French resistance? I’ll never know.
Because stories like Catherine’s remind us that until we face the ultimate test, we can’t begin to discover what our limits truly are. The women from my school cohort will probably never face that kind of life-or-death struggle, but all of us can draw strength and inspiration from the courage and resilience of women like Catherine Dior.
Sisters of the Resistance by Christine Wells, published by HarperCollins Australia, is out now.
Our Book of the Month is about an inspiring – and controversial – woman from further back in time: The Good Wife Of Bath, by Karen Brooks. You can get 30 per cent off the RRP of $32.99 via Booktopia by using the code BATH at checkout.