Book Review of Assignment Paris, by Robert Brightwell

Assignment Paris is a lively, well-researched adventure with a great character that’s fun to read while giving you a good sense of the real history of the Franco-Prussian war.

Ne’re do-well Thomas Harrison is given a job as a war correspondent at his uncle’s paper. He’s sent to Paris and witnesses much of the war from the saber-rattling early days through many of the battles, including Sedan, the Siege of Paris, and finally, the “Bloody Week” with the destruction of the Paris Commune. There’s also a love story with great foreshadowing that’ll keep you reading to the end.

Thomas Harrison is fictional but is written as a counterpart to the real journalist Archibald Forbes.  Many of the main character’s adventures and mishaps are taken from real experiences of other journalists as well. Even his love interest is based on a legendary and somewhat mystical heroine of the Commune.

The main character’s first-person narrative acts as a tour guide of the real history. Author Robert Brightwell weaves the important historical aspects seamlessly into the story through dialog and the character’s journalistic pursuits. The result is a very readable and entertaining romp that will leave you with a good sense of what happened during the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune that followed.

Check out the free preview here:

Once you’ve read that, check out my novel about the Austro-Prussian War: