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Bad Faith: A Story of Family and Fatherland
Bad Faith tells the story of one of history's most despicable villains and conmen - Louis Darquier, Nazi collaborator and 'Commissioner for Jewish Affairs', who dissembled his way to power in the Vichy government and was responsible for sending thousands of children to the gas chambers. After the war he left France, never to be brought to justice.
Early on in his career Louis married the alcoholic Myrtle Jones from Tasmania, equally practised in the arts of fantasy and deception, and together they had a child, Anne whom they abandoned in England. Her tragic story is woven through the narrative.
In Carmen Callil's masterful, elegiac and sometimes darkly comic account, Darquier's rise during the years leading up to the Second World War mirrors the rise of French anti-Semitism. Epic, haunting, the product of extraordinary research, this is a study in powerlessness, hatred and the role of remembrance.
Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
Early on in his career Louis married the alcoholic Myrtle Jones from Tasmania, equally practised in the arts of fantasy and deception, and together they had a child, Anne whom they abandoned in England. Her tragic story is woven through the narrative.
In Carmen Callil's masterful, elegiac and sometimes darkly comic account, Darquier's rise during the years leading up to the Second World War mirrors the rise of French anti-Semitism. Epic, haunting, the product of extraordinary research, this is a study in powerlessness, hatred and the role of remembrance.
Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Carmen Callil
16Ìýbooks8ÌýfollowersCarmen Thérèse Callil is a publisher, writer and critic. She founded Virago Press in 1973.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 25, 2025
One of the most fascinating, absorbing and utterly horrifying books I have ever read. It is a tale of utter self absorption and selfishness that is the life of the grotesque Louis Darquier de Pellepoix (of course the de Pellapoix is completely made-up, a fantasy noble name to aggrandise a small man of mediocre mind, no morals and complete dishonesty) and his equally loathsome wife, Myrtle. They are a couple of whom there is nothing good to say, they are so awful that it almost beggars description. Louis Darquier managed to parlay an involvement in far right politics before WWII into political power in Vichy as Commissariat-general of Jewish Affairs where he co-operated enthusiastically with German demands and sent untold thousands of French Jews to their deaths while enriching himself with a blatancy that ensured he was dismissed after barely two years. He extracted himself from Vichy's crumbling ruin and spent the rest of his life in Spain, a very welcome guest of similar shoddy Third Reich 'celebrities' and although sentenced to death 'in abstentia' he avoided justice and denied any wrong-doing, indeed insisting that the gas chambers at the death camps were there to kill lice, until he died in 1980.
A horrible coda to the whole nasty Louis and Myrtle tale is the fate of their daughter, abandoned in 1939 in London who became an admired psychiatrist and helped many including the author of this book, but could never escape the shadow and guilt of her parenthood and killed herself at age 40 - in a sense the last victim of the worthless 'de Pellepoix' couple (the daughter never used the bogus name and it was only after her death that her connection to the loathsome couple was revealed).
I would never want to oversimplify the complexities faced by French men and women after the disaster of 1941 but around those busy-bodies who so assiduously filled ministries and spent their time on 'National Renewal' there always lingers a stench of greed, dissimulation, hypocrisy, adventurism and general loathsomeness. They grubbed for power, privilege and the good things to be seized from the unlucky. Carmen Callil's account of the 'de Pellepoix' couple as they gorged themselves is an exemplary portrait of the moral void at the heart of all those who hate and condemn. Those who fill their discourse with nightmare scenarios involving Jews, communists and gays out to debauch their children, families, country and morals always reveal less of what is a threat and more of their own hidden lusts.
I can not praise this book enough it is stark reminder that there really isn't any justice in the world, that karma doesn't exist, the selfish and self centred win because they don't care about anyone or anything else.
A horrible coda to the whole nasty Louis and Myrtle tale is the fate of their daughter, abandoned in 1939 in London who became an admired psychiatrist and helped many including the author of this book, but could never escape the shadow and guilt of her parenthood and killed herself at age 40 - in a sense the last victim of the worthless 'de Pellepoix' couple (the daughter never used the bogus name and it was only after her death that her connection to the loathsome couple was revealed).
I would never want to oversimplify the complexities faced by French men and women after the disaster of 1941 but around those busy-bodies who so assiduously filled ministries and spent their time on 'National Renewal' there always lingers a stench of greed, dissimulation, hypocrisy, adventurism and general loathsomeness. They grubbed for power, privilege and the good things to be seized from the unlucky. Carmen Callil's account of the 'de Pellepoix' couple as they gorged themselves is an exemplary portrait of the moral void at the heart of all those who hate and condemn. Those who fill their discourse with nightmare scenarios involving Jews, communists and gays out to debauch their children, families, country and morals always reveal less of what is a threat and more of their own hidden lusts.
I can not praise this book enough it is stark reminder that there really isn't any justice in the world, that karma doesn't exist, the selfish and self centred win because they don't care about anyone or anything else.
February 28, 2013
A very readable, and personal examination of an individual family experience before, and during the German occupation of France. It focuses primarily on Louis Darquier and his spouse Myrtle Jones � about as loathsome a couple as can be found. There is really not much one can say that is remotely positive about these two.
The author examines the historical genealogy of both. Louis’s origins are from Cahors in France and Myrtle from Tasmania (the island at the bottom of Australia). What is so striking is they are both the bad apples of their families (who said opposites attract?). The other family member’s became self-sufficient and successful in their respective societies. Admittedly Louis’s family had a difficult time during the occupation and his brother Jean collaborated too closely with the Vichy regime. Louis Darquier was a complete “loser�.
Louis was never able to support himself; he constantly borrowed large sums of money from his family which he never returned. For him, and his wife Myrtle, lying was not second nature � it was their way of life. From this perspective they were soul-mates. They only knew how to spend money extravagantly � they constantly lived in hotels and ate out. They had a child which they promptly abandoned.
During the 1930’s after Hitler came to power � Louis found his calling and became involved with right-wing anti-Semitic groups. He published a great deal of repulsive hate literature propaganda � anti-Semitic and repetitive. He established many contacts in this under-world. At this stage much of his money was coming directly from Nazi Germany, so at least he was not so dependent on his family. He and Myrtle continued living the high life in hotels and restaurants. After the fall of France in the summer of 1940 this underworld ascended to real political power and Louis pontificated at the head of several anti-Semitic organizations. These were involved in the deportation of Jews to Germany � most were killed in concentration camps. There were many children among the victims.
Even though this is a dismal story it is extremely well told and illuminating. It puts a human face on a particular person who did horrible crimes. To his dying day in Spain this anti-Semitism was very alive in Louis Darquier.
It would be interesting to speculate on why anti-Semitism became such an important part of Louis life during the 1930’s. Prior to this, it was not a significant focal point in his life. It is possible that Louis simply latched onto this as a money-getting scheme � being the opportunist that he was.
A very sad aspect of this story is the daughter they abandoned in England. She became a psychiatrist and helped many of her patients � one of them being the author of this book. Unfortunately she self-destructed and died at the age of forty. She was morbidly disillusioned with both her parents.
This detailed story gives one a greater understanding of Vichy France and the agony of a country under occupation. Louis was but one of a large group that collaborated. France still copes and suffers from this debacle.
And to twist history � if France had successfully resisted the German invasion of 1940 � Louis would have remained a non-entity with his hundred or so dismal followers. Quite possibly he would have been arrested and imprisoned.
The author examines the historical genealogy of both. Louis’s origins are from Cahors in France and Myrtle from Tasmania (the island at the bottom of Australia). What is so striking is they are both the bad apples of their families (who said opposites attract?). The other family member’s became self-sufficient and successful in their respective societies. Admittedly Louis’s family had a difficult time during the occupation and his brother Jean collaborated too closely with the Vichy regime. Louis Darquier was a complete “loser�.
Louis was never able to support himself; he constantly borrowed large sums of money from his family which he never returned. For him, and his wife Myrtle, lying was not second nature � it was their way of life. From this perspective they were soul-mates. They only knew how to spend money extravagantly � they constantly lived in hotels and ate out. They had a child which they promptly abandoned.
During the 1930’s after Hitler came to power � Louis found his calling and became involved with right-wing anti-Semitic groups. He published a great deal of repulsive hate literature propaganda � anti-Semitic and repetitive. He established many contacts in this under-world. At this stage much of his money was coming directly from Nazi Germany, so at least he was not so dependent on his family. He and Myrtle continued living the high life in hotels and restaurants. After the fall of France in the summer of 1940 this underworld ascended to real political power and Louis pontificated at the head of several anti-Semitic organizations. These were involved in the deportation of Jews to Germany � most were killed in concentration camps. There were many children among the victims.
Even though this is a dismal story it is extremely well told and illuminating. It puts a human face on a particular person who did horrible crimes. To his dying day in Spain this anti-Semitism was very alive in Louis Darquier.
It would be interesting to speculate on why anti-Semitism became such an important part of Louis life during the 1930’s. Prior to this, it was not a significant focal point in his life. It is possible that Louis simply latched onto this as a money-getting scheme � being the opportunist that he was.
A very sad aspect of this story is the daughter they abandoned in England. She became a psychiatrist and helped many of her patients � one of them being the author of this book. Unfortunately she self-destructed and died at the age of forty. She was morbidly disillusioned with both her parents.
This detailed story gives one a greater understanding of Vichy France and the agony of a country under occupation. Louis was but one of a large group that collaborated. France still copes and suffers from this debacle.
And to twist history � if France had successfully resisted the German invasion of 1940 � Louis would have remained a non-entity with his hundred or so dismal followers. Quite possibly he would have been arrested and imprisoned.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2016
This chronicle has a very interesting format. It intertwines the life of the Commissioner of Jewish Affairs in Vichy (and later Holocaust denier) who enjoyed a cushy life in the pocket of the Nazis, and the life of his child who he and his equally crazed wife abandoned to a much more grim upbringing in war torn London and Essex.
Louis Darquier de Pollopoix' life was full of bizarre meanders, fantasies, backhanders, infuriating acts and demands, and blatant lies. It's a fascinating and frustrating ride, especially considering how it all worked out for him.
Carmen Callil is indefatigable in her detail, and I really enjoyed how she drew comparisons of the lives of Louis, his wife Myrtle (and her equally disillusioned family) and that of Anne's, their daughter. Her (understandable) derision of Louis is palpable between the lines, both for the atrocities he performed and got away with, and the injustices in her dear friend's life.
Her motivations are sound, and what resulted was a really well thought out and thought provoking book. Much enjoyed.
Louis Darquier de Pollopoix' life was full of bizarre meanders, fantasies, backhanders, infuriating acts and demands, and blatant lies. It's a fascinating and frustrating ride, especially considering how it all worked out for him.
Carmen Callil is indefatigable in her detail, and I really enjoyed how she drew comparisons of the lives of Louis, his wife Myrtle (and her equally disillusioned family) and that of Anne's, their daughter. Her (understandable) derision of Louis is palpable between the lines, both for the atrocities he performed and got away with, and the injustices in her dear friend's life.
Her motivations are sound, and what resulted was a really well thought out and thought provoking book. Much enjoyed.
January 18, 2023
This work by a famous publisher (Callil founded Virago Books) after she left the world of publishing, shines a light on the Vichy Government and its relationship with Germany during WW2. The life of Louis Darquier, an official who fled to Madrid at the end of the war, is the lens through which this time and place in history is examined. The meticulous amount of detail and thoroughness of research is a feature of this book. The fate of Jews living in France in the context of the Holocaust is carefully described. Callil died in 2022, but hopefully the stories told in Bad Faith do not die with her.
April 29, 2022
This was an interesting book, but only minorly. I was disappointed at the kind of detail that included the repetition of seemingly unnecessary and hard to pronounce names seen once and never again. The purpose of their inclusion seemed to be to bulk out the book while the essential story could have been shorter but still impactful. The streamlined story is important for the revelation of a Nazi criminal whose story is little-known.
March 4, 2021
An immersive and intellectually stimulating work that I thoroughly enjoyed - on may levels. The behind the scenes look at pre-war Australia, and England Vichy France and Franco's Spain was fascinating.
July 24, 2011
In depth and well documented study of French Anti-Semitism and the pitiful Vichy government.
August 29, 2014
An interesting read. In a "may you live in interesting times" kind of way.
Last year we went to see the movie "La Rafle", about the Vel d'Hiv' "round up" of French Jews during the Second World War. I bought this book a couple of years ago (because of the title, and because it's about the German occupation of France during WWII, and WWII is one of those things I always want to be learning more about), but only picked it up this year. I will also admit that it got more sustained attention from me because it is by a female author who identifies as Australian.
Things I learned from this book:
- a lot more about the legalities and practicalities of Vichy France (and the fact that the town of Vichy is still trying - and failing - to live down the fact that its name is forever associated with the technically ongoing identity of the French nation during WWII)
- between my previous read (), this one, and the one I just borrowed from the library today () I am in a really anti-Roman Catholic-Curia-during-WWII stage of existence
- not surprisingly, France under German occupation is a little more complex than 'Allo 'Allo. I certainly hadn't previously realised that the Germans essentially re-took control of the whole of France in 1942 prior to reading this book.
- theodicy (the problem of evil) forms a lot of my thought processes at the moment. Not just because of my reading (recent sermons are also an influence)
- the ugliness of the "cultural cringe" of Australians who left here in the 60s and have never really returned is not limited to celebrities such as Germaine Greer, Robert Hughes, and Clive James.
- I *really* don't like generalisations about Tasmanians, even though I don't think I'd like the Jones family one little bit.
Downsides to the book:
- Callil generalises wildly about Australia. I object to this from someone who hasn't lived here since 1960.
- In a lot of ways its not enough about Anne. It's not even all that much about Anne's relationship with her father, or in fact about *family* at all. Which makes the title of the book rather misleading. I actually wish that the book had NOT been given the framing mechanism of Anne Darquier, because as interesting as it occasionally was, it meant that I wanted to know more of Anne's life, more of Anne's thoughts, than I had any chance to be given. I wish Callil had admitted from the beginning that this was a book almost entirely about Louis Darquier with only tangential references to his wife and daughter. If that had been the case, she might not have been so disparaging of Australia in general, into the bargain.
I really am trying not to be too mean about this book. After all, I learnt a lot from it, and I did finish it. I'm also trying not to react just to the clangers about Australia, but the problem was, they were in the first few chapters, and rang so false that they coloured my entire impression of the book.
Ultimately, I'm glad I only paid $5 for this book. It will probably stay in my collection, but more because it's about WWII than because I have any real intention of re-reading it in the future.
Last year we went to see the movie "La Rafle", about the Vel d'Hiv' "round up" of French Jews during the Second World War. I bought this book a couple of years ago (because of the title, and because it's about the German occupation of France during WWII, and WWII is one of those things I always want to be learning more about), but only picked it up this year. I will also admit that it got more sustained attention from me because it is by a female author who identifies as Australian.
Things I learned from this book:
- a lot more about the legalities and practicalities of Vichy France (and the fact that the town of Vichy is still trying - and failing - to live down the fact that its name is forever associated with the technically ongoing identity of the French nation during WWII)
- between my previous read (), this one, and the one I just borrowed from the library today () I am in a really anti-Roman Catholic-Curia-during-WWII stage of existence
- not surprisingly, France under German occupation is a little more complex than 'Allo 'Allo. I certainly hadn't previously realised that the Germans essentially re-took control of the whole of France in 1942 prior to reading this book.
- theodicy (the problem of evil) forms a lot of my thought processes at the moment. Not just because of my reading (recent sermons are also an influence)
- the ugliness of the "cultural cringe" of Australians who left here in the 60s and have never really returned is not limited to celebrities such as Germaine Greer, Robert Hughes, and Clive James.
- I *really* don't like generalisations about Tasmanians, even though I don't think I'd like the Jones family one little bit.
Downsides to the book:
- Callil generalises wildly about Australia. I object to this from someone who hasn't lived here since 1960.
- In a lot of ways its not enough about Anne. It's not even all that much about Anne's relationship with her father, or in fact about *family* at all. Which makes the title of the book rather misleading. I actually wish that the book had NOT been given the framing mechanism of Anne Darquier, because as interesting as it occasionally was, it meant that I wanted to know more of Anne's life, more of Anne's thoughts, than I had any chance to be given. I wish Callil had admitted from the beginning that this was a book almost entirely about Louis Darquier with only tangential references to his wife and daughter. If that had been the case, she might not have been so disparaging of Australia in general, into the bargain.
I really am trying not to be too mean about this book. After all, I learnt a lot from it, and I did finish it. I'm also trying not to react just to the clangers about Australia, but the problem was, they were in the first few chapters, and rang so false that they coloured my entire impression of the book.
Ultimately, I'm glad I only paid $5 for this book. It will probably stay in my collection, but more because it's about WWII than because I have any real intention of re-reading it in the future.
April 20, 2015
This book is at times fascinating and at others rather dull. It is the burden of the biographer to follow the subject's trajectory through life without deviating from the facts, whether those facts make diverting reading or not. The self-styled Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, born simply Louis Darquier, was an unscrupulous self-serving opportunist who, having failed at everything else, made a career of antisemitism and presided over the extermination of thousands of French jews. His laziness, incompetence and venality lost him the respect even of his associates in villainy, and only a succession of fortuitous circumstances and a certain instinctive cunning kept him in office for so long.
This is a curious book. The biography of this thoroughly wicked man is bookended by another biography, that of his wronged but admirable daughter Dr Anne Darquier, to whom the author professes a debt of gratitude. Reading the early chapters was uncomfortable for me because the storyline felt contrived, distorted by an emphasis on someone who, while having personal importance for the author, appears not to be otherwise very significant. I had a strong suspicion that Callil would have done better to have written a biography exclusively about Louis Darquier "de Pellepoix", and to have left her friend quite out of it. I need not have worried. Anne's life justifies her place in the book. It rounds out her father's story by bringing the reader close to one who he hurt firstly through neglect and latterly by the horror which she was to learn to be his legacy.
Callil's research is very impressive, and it is not hard to forgive her a couple of dubious generalisations about Australian life and mores (Anne's mother was Australian). Her grasp of French political actors and events, particularly on the antisemitic right, is nothing short of compendious. I think I could not have read this book without frequent reference to wikipedia in French, for the actors, ideas, movements, parties and events are just too bewilderingly numerous to make sense of without the necessary background information. Given the sheer complexity of the story which Callil has to tell, it is a blessing that her written expression is so very clear. I don't think I found a single typo or non-sequitur in the entire 400+ pages of the book, which is further enriched with photographs, family trees, maps, appendices, index and bibliography.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a strong interest in French antisemitism, the Occupation, the Vichy government or the rather lackadaisical post-war pursuit of French war criminals. Callil makes clear the important distinctions between French and Nazi antisemitism and between Roman Catholic and secular dictatorships. I was also quite struck by one particular remark, and it may one day serve me as point of departure for my honours dissertation in French, if I should ever go so far:
"In one sense the years 1940 to 1944, for the French people, had little to do with the world war raging outside their occupied territory, but much to do with what the French did to the French, and how they ended the long civil war which had begun with the Revolution in 1789" (p. 373)
This is an admirable book about a despicable but centrally placed mid-level actor at a very dark time in French history.
This is a curious book. The biography of this thoroughly wicked man is bookended by another biography, that of his wronged but admirable daughter Dr Anne Darquier, to whom the author professes a debt of gratitude. Reading the early chapters was uncomfortable for me because the storyline felt contrived, distorted by an emphasis on someone who, while having personal importance for the author, appears not to be otherwise very significant. I had a strong suspicion that Callil would have done better to have written a biography exclusively about Louis Darquier "de Pellepoix", and to have left her friend quite out of it. I need not have worried. Anne's life justifies her place in the book. It rounds out her father's story by bringing the reader close to one who he hurt firstly through neglect and latterly by the horror which she was to learn to be his legacy.
Callil's research is very impressive, and it is not hard to forgive her a couple of dubious generalisations about Australian life and mores (Anne's mother was Australian). Her grasp of French political actors and events, particularly on the antisemitic right, is nothing short of compendious. I think I could not have read this book without frequent reference to wikipedia in French, for the actors, ideas, movements, parties and events are just too bewilderingly numerous to make sense of without the necessary background information. Given the sheer complexity of the story which Callil has to tell, it is a blessing that her written expression is so very clear. I don't think I found a single typo or non-sequitur in the entire 400+ pages of the book, which is further enriched with photographs, family trees, maps, appendices, index and bibliography.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a strong interest in French antisemitism, the Occupation, the Vichy government or the rather lackadaisical post-war pursuit of French war criminals. Callil makes clear the important distinctions between French and Nazi antisemitism and between Roman Catholic and secular dictatorships. I was also quite struck by one particular remark, and it may one day serve me as point of departure for my honours dissertation in French, if I should ever go so far:
"In one sense the years 1940 to 1944, for the French people, had little to do with the world war raging outside their occupied territory, but much to do with what the French did to the French, and how they ended the long civil war which had begun with the Revolution in 1789" (p. 373)
This is an admirable book about a despicable but centrally placed mid-level actor at a very dark time in French history.
June 5, 2015
A terrific encyclopedic summary of anti-Semitic behavior in France during WWII in the form of a biography of Louis Darquier (de Pellepoix), a figure without redemption who made a living for years, not that good, on his hatred of Jews. In great detail, the author take us through the minutiae of anti-Semitism during his entire life and his mindless wife's life. No question on the French participation wholesale in the slaughter of both foreign and French Jews, although some efforts were made to slow down the transportation of French citizens to extermination camps. Vichy never had a second thought, kowtowing to the insane Germans, sometimes going farther than they were required. Also, the moving story of Darquier's children, one illegitimate, and his direct family. Must read for anyone with doubts on the holocaust who has a bit of a brain.
February 16, 2022
Sentences are a bit warbled at times, but as someone who just moved to France and didn't know about what happened in France during WW2 (beyond D-Day and the like) this was a very interesting and necessary read.
May 15, 2007
Meticulously researched but distinctly unscholarly, and for these reasons the most entertaining and interesting book on Vichy in years.
October 1, 2020
An outstanding book which lays bare through the featured character Louis Darquier -- phonetically an appropriate name for this era of French history -- 'de Pellepoix' (like the man a falsehood seized from more illustrious historical personalities) this stain on a proud nation. Essentially this drunkard, fantasist and bar brawler...bar room bore to boot ..'rose' to be appointed Commissioner for Jewish Affairs in the collaborationist Vichy administration. Astonishing is the overt anti-Semitism espoused not just in cafes and the streets but in the established French press in the 1930's...Prime Minister Leon Blum attacked for his religion being the reason for the failings of his government...etc...he was to survive incarceration in Buchenwald concentration camp. Tens of thousands of others were not so fortunate as they were rounded up by French police and sent via Drancy and other horrific halfway camps in France to their deaths. Darquier is all for that but his propensity for spending as little time as possible in the office led to him being a bit player in the process, though, he was just as responsible. However his willingness to deliver vile anti-Semitic speeches made him the perfect fall guy for the ruthlessly ambitious highly efficient Rene Bousquet and his boss Prime Minister Pierre Laval as well as Marshal Petain who ensured the trains left packed with Jews including babies. There is the most chilling debate amongst them of whether children should be included with Bousquet recalling youngsters after releasing a group and effectively condemning them to death. There are heart-rending scenes of the parents being separated from their children by French guards at a camp. Laval was executed -- though Callil says Petain should have joined him and rightly so as he was the bigger villain of the piece the man who set himself up as the protector of the nation but did not lift a finger to save the Jews -- Bousquet shamefully escaped the firing squad and was protected for decades by the French establishment primarily by Francois Mitterrand. If ever there was a more evil personality it is Bousquet whose serene successful post war career -- he ended up as director of the Bank Of Indochina -- was rudely interrupted when Darquier late in life living in exile in Madrid gave an interview declaring that the round ups and deportations were all Bousquet which was perhaps a rare occasion when the monocled anti-Semite spoke the truth. Mitterrand's 'ignorance' of the deportations and cruelty to the Jews is also exposed his sister was the mistress of a senior official in Darquier's Commission and his brother married the niece of the leader of far right group The Cagoule Eugene Deloncle. Protection to loathsome war criminals extended to established French companies such as L'Oreal -- Eugene Schueller the head of the company appointed two of Cagoule's murderers Deloncle's right hand man Jacques Correze head of their US operation till the 1990's and Deloncle's 'top gun' Jacques Filliol ran the Spanish franchise...Mitterrand himself worked for the company. As for the Taittinger champagne family would imagine Pierre-Charles, who bought the company in 1931, is not mentioned a far right zealot and who extracted from Darquier through being head of the Paris Council 'interesting Jewish businesses' for his brother-in-law Louis Burnouf -- he ended up with 16. As Callil acidly remarks Taittinger he asked for more in December 1943 "he had a large family." Even more astonishing as Callil observes when the end was nigh for Vichy and the Nazis in Paris "Taittinger's transformation into a resistant was one of the most startling of the war." It is a truly brilliant book, superbly written not without humour -- largely aimed at the appalling ludicrous Darquier as well as his fantasist alcoholic Australian wife Myrtle. The impact of the subject all the more powerful because of the way it came about...Callil spent seven years being treated by a female psychiatrist in London...one day she went round for an appointment ..no answer...turned out she had died aged 40 the author believes it was suicide though it was officially declared an "accidental death"...her name Anne Darquier daughter of Louis and Myrtle but left in the hands of Elsie an adoring nanny/nurse in England. She grew up despising her mother but believing in the legend her father was a Baron...that is till she went to visit him in Madrid post war and his true base self revealed itself to her. "There are some things and some people you can never forgive," she remarked to Callil shortly after her visit. An appropriate summary for Darquier 'de Pellepoix', and all the other singularly unattractive brutal and sociopathic characters that made up Vichy and the Paris based collaborators so brilliantly exposed and brought to life by Callil in his masterpiece.
October 26, 2024
An interesting story, but unfortunately badly written. Far too many pages written about irrelevant or repetative imformation. Regarding the terrible persecution of Jews in France, relatively few details actually refer to his part in the event. So was he a vile antisemite and a vile person, or was he actually involved in the deporting of the Jews??? The book didnt really help me understand. This is a great shame since I am very interested in the topic, coming from a French, Jewish family myself.
August 9, 2020
This is the family history of Louis Darquier de Pellepoix and his wife Myrtle Jones. It goes into great depth about their antecedents and their debt filled lives before the war more so than the actual story of the Nazi collab0rator.
December 8, 2024
My that was a slog: through bizarre fantasies, inhumane evil, and words, so many of them, such fastidious detail. This could have been a truly great book, but why-oh-why didn’t Carmen Callil avail herself of a good editor, of whom she must have known an infinite amount.
November 18, 2010
I'm not a big fan of Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, but when I read Callil's criticism of it I feel compelled to defend it. Because the author of such a mess as this really shouldn't throw stones. But I admire her intent in this book.
March 17, 2015
I picked up this book after listening to an interview with the author (an interesting woman herself) as I wanted to know more about the subject's abandoned daughter. It's a thick, heavy tome which would be most of interest to scholars of history, I think.
January 3, 2017
Found this whilst going through bookshelf and reminded of how much I enjoyed reading this a few years ago. It's such a well-researched and insightful book. I loved the author's style and sensitivity in describing the rogues and victims of this area of the 30s and war.
May 14, 2016
I'm still at the beginning and I am already so impressed by the breadth of Callil's research. Bad Faith is the result of years of intense scholarship, and is a fascinating read.
December 17, 2009
Some powerful insights into period but often bewildered by the detail.
September 6, 2015
This book was a revelation about the degree of anti-semitism in France.
January 17, 2014
Well researched and documented life of France's version of Eichmann. A great resource on France's Darkest Years, 1940-1944 and Vichy, France. A must read for everyone.
September 8, 2007
History buffs and Francophiles may be interested in this.
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