Page 93 - All About History - Issue 54-17

Reviews

DESERTER’S

MASQUERADE

Gender fluidity in the shadow of the Great War

Author/ Artist Chloé Cruchaudet Publisher Knockabout Price £17 Released Out now

ased on a little-known story on the for deserters, Paul re-emerges but is haunted
periphery of World War I, Chloé by the realisation that Suzanne was no act. He
Cruchaudet’s graphic novel feels especially drinks to excess, abuses Louise and is eventually
vibrant and relevant as trans visibility and murdered by her — an act that is framed as a
Bissues of gender take their places in public kindness, ending her husband’s torment.
discourse. After being wounded in the trenches Chloé Cruchaudet’s art has a delicate
on the front, Paul Grappe deserts and returns watercolour that surfaces the humanity and
home to his young wife, Louise. Unwillingly fluidity of the story. It’s a dreamlike world,
forced to spend his days in hiding, he soon both literally as Paul is confronted by
discovers that he can rejoin society — cautiously nightmarish horrors from the trenches and
at first, but then more enthusiastically — in the figuratively as Paul and Suzanne dual in his
guise of Suzanne. What starts as an act of pure half-smiles and glances. Largely blue-black, the
pragmatism forces Paul to re-examine his own brilliant red splashes underscore the rawness of
sexuality and identity as he lives as a woman, feeling in the red of the French soldier’s trousers,
working and socialising as Suzanne. of Suzanne’s coat and nails, and of his own
There are echoes of 2015 drama film The spilled blood as Deserter’s Masquerade reaches
Danish Girl as Suzanne’s new life — and its affecting conclusion.
promiscuity in the debauchery of a Parisian park Provocative and urgent, Cruchaudet surfaces
after dark — collides with Louise’s expectations a side of World War I that is little explored at a
from her husband. Following a 1922 amnesty time when it needs to be understood the most.

THE CURIOUS WORLD OF SAMUEL

PEPYS AND JOHN EVELYN

A journey into the lives of two great 17th-century diarists

Author Margaret Willes Publisher Yale University Press
Price £20 Released 22 August 2017
here is perhaps no more intimate hailing from a Tudor manor, while Pepys is the
window into the soul than the diary, son of a tailor who displays a rather unique blend
with its author’s true self imprinted on of raucousness and cheerfulness in his journal.
the pages, their innermost hopes and But as Willes looks deeper, it’s easy to see how
T dreams extracted from mind to paper. the pair were drawn together, with their passion
The form is a powerful historical tool, brimming for helping veterans and a shared, insatiable
with the sights, sounds and smells of centuries curiosity, encompassing interests from literature
past. And perhaps no more vivid account of life’s and music to gardening and the Royal Society.
exuberances and tragedies can be found than Pepys and Evelyn are best known for their
that of Samuel Pepys. accounts of the triple tragedy of 1665-66 — the
Pepys’ perceptive narratives were written plague, Great Fire and Second Anglo-Dutch
across the 1660s and capture the atmosphere War — but it’s even more of a joy to explore their
that cloaked the turbulent period. Joining him in personal lives. There’s never a dull moment,
such musings was another diarist, John Evelyn. particularly when Pepys is involved, what with
Contrasting in character and upbringing, the his affairs and squabbles with servants.
pair nonetheless struck up a lifelong bond, and Willes’ lively text is backed up by a solid
this is the focus of Margaret Willes’ new book, bibliography and references, including many a
an intimate text exploring the men’s friendship, touching letter between the diarists.
public and private lives and diverse interests. The end result is a satisfying meander
Upon introduction, their differences are along a riveting period, underpinned by two
obvious. Evelyn is genteel, somewhat aloof, compelling individuals.
93