August 21, 2017
Sad news from France
MARCEL HEUZÉ 1949–2017
Yesterday — August 20, 2017 — brought sad news from France: Marcel Heuzé, son of Marcel and Renée Heuzé, passed away.READ MORE
August 6, 2017
OTD August 6, 1944: The Daimler-Marienfelde factory was bombed
Library of Congress image USZ62-59134
Upper left: Before; Center: During. Lower right: After.
On this day seventy-three years ago, eighty-three Army Air Force B-17 bombers targeted Daimler’s Marienfelde factory. “The bombing is very effective,” the mission record stated, “and ten major [targets] are severely damaged during one of the best days that the Eighth [Air Force] experiences.”
If you’ve read “Marcel’s Letters,” you’ll know I scoured military mission records to find out how and when the factory where Marcel worked had been bombed. If you have the book, you can read the passage about the search—and this specific bombing raid—on pages 109–112. The photo above is first referenced at the bottom of page 110.
July 3, 2017
A Collection of Unexpected Interactions
This blog is a reflection on, and a collection of, unexpected interactions. This post will evolve and grow as time goes on. Come back again — I’m sure I will be adding more!READ MORE
June 26, 2017
June 26, 1944: “…a swell souvenir…”
June 26, 1944
Dear mom, pop, & family,
Thought you’d like a little souvenir of England mom, so I picked this bracelet up from a guy who makes them. READ MORE
June 18, 2017
June 18, 1945: “We are running a mock election on the unit just now…”
No. 145 18th June 1945
Dear Nova,
Many happy returns of today! I had not forgotten your birthday but I decided to mention it on the day itself instead of trying to time a letter to reach you on the day.READ MORE
June 13, 2017
June 8, 2017: Launch Party at Open Book
“There was a whole lot of love in that room,” a friend remarked a couple of days after the launch party. Her comment made me smile from ear to ear.READ MORE
June 4, 2017
June 4, 1944: “It is with sadness that we hear every day about the deadly bombings on France!”
Detmold, June 4, 1944
Good old Georges,
Really, what’s new with you? Still no news from you. Unfortunately, the mail doesn’t work very well, and I get very few letters.
June 1, 2017
Marcel’s Letters is now in the Daimler-Benz Library
While working on the book, I had — I still have, to be honest — conflicted feelings about Daimler-Benz. READ MORE
May 25, 2017
Book Club Questions
Have you selected Marcel’s Letters for your Book Club? Use this list of questions to frame a lively discussion about the book. Or, you know, you can pretend to discuss the book and just drink wine. I know how some Book Clubs roll. I won’t judge.
Do you want me to join you? Drop me an email at carolyn (at) porterfolioinc.com and we can arrange a virtual meeting via Google Hangouts.
Click here to see the BookClub handout
May 23, 2017
1943 French Compulsory Labor Service Census Certificate
In one of the letters Marcel mailed from Berlin, he mentioned having to show his papers to the German police. My guess is that he showed them his arbeitskarte (worker card) which likely included his photo and listed basic biographic information. The arbeitskarte might have also been inked with his fingerprints.READ MORE
May 21, 2017
You would think signing the damn thing would be easy
I received a shipment of eight books from the publisher. All but one of those books will be mailed to members of the Heuzé family in France.
Since everything about publishing is new to me, I had to research how to sign a book. READ MORE
May 16, 2017
Booklist Starred Review of Marcel’s Letters
Starred Review
Issue: May 15, 2017
Although Porter found the letters, perhaps they also found her. READ MORE