I have never shied away from novels about war, but given the recent headlines about authoritarianism I found myself cringing at the Parisian Gestapo tactics. I enjoyed both of Belfoure’s architect novels, but for two distinct reasons I preferred Fallen to Paris. Not only does Layton explore the mechanical aspects of the disaster, he also probes the enmities and alibis of those who might have been responsible. This gives him access to an insider’s point of view, so he can spend most of Belfoure’s novel trying to determine what went wrong on the fateful night at the Britannia Empire Theatre. He returns to London, not as an architect but as a music hall workman who paints the multiple backdrops used by music hall acts.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Layton changes his name, his appearance, and his profession. Convicted of murder, he spent five years in custody because one of his designs had mysteriously failed, killing fourteen patrons jammed beneath the balcony of a fully packed music hall. The Fallen Architect begins with Layton’s release from prison. At the same time, he begins to rebuild his practice by “collaborating” with the Germans, designing munitions factories for the “enemy.” Needless to say, his dual roles conflict with one another, and that tension drives the plot of The Paris Architect.Ī different sort of double life troubles Douglas Layton. Bernard visits one elegant residence after another, designing spaces inside statues, under staircases, behind fireplaces, where refuges might secrete themselves. Basing his plot on the Elizabethan “priest holes,” when architects concocted camouflaged spots where priests could hide from their oppressors, Belfoure imagines doing the same inside Paris mansions. A wealthy aristocrat hires Lucien Bernard to build secret hiding places for Jews fleeing from the Gestapo. The Paris architect, struggling to earn a living in a time of war, finds himself caught between two sides. Both are filled with insider knowledge about the artistry and craft of architecture and about the sorts of men who choose such a career. Later he wrote The Fallen Architect, which occurs in England at the beginning of the twentieth century. His first was The Paris Architect, which takes place during the German occupation of Paris in 1942. Paris and Fallen Architects – Two novels, one author, an architect by training, a novelist by inclination.Īn architect by training and a novelist by inclination, Charles Belfoure has written two narratives that feature protagonists who are architects.

The paris architect by charles belfoure