Passing Unseen
The
title
of
this
novel
is
part
of
a
quotation
from
a
well-known
book
by
Robert
Pirsig.
The
idea
of
the
'little
moments
through
which
we
pass
unseen’
to
which
he
refers
has
a
very
strong
appeal
for
me.
We
are
all
aware
of
the
results
of
our
'big
moments'
but
few
of
us
dwell
on
the
results
of
the
myriad
'little
moments'.
The
setting
of
this
story
during
WW2
is
not
an
accident.
Not
only
does
war
increase
exponentially
the
number
of
'little
moments'
but
I
discovered
in
France
one
strand
of
the
inevitably
complex
tale
that
actually
occurred
during
the
war.
By
complete
serendipity
I
met
a
former
Resistance
fighter
who'd
played
a
small
part
in
the
story
of
the
rescue
of
the
crew
of
a
crashed
American
B-24
bomber.
He'd
written
(in
French)
and
privately
published
the
factual
story of their rescue.
I
carried
out
further
research,
interviewed
many
of
the
American
crew
and
some
of
the
members
of
the
Resistance
who
were
still
alive.
I
produced
the
updated
story
as
an
educational
multi-language
interactive CD-ROM for the Museum of Alpe d'Huez.
When
I
decided
to
write
a
novel
about
these
‘little
moments’
I
added
the
major
story
of
the
French
Resistance,
some
of
which
is
also
based
on
fact.
I
also
included
other
events
that
actually
happened.
For
example,
the
stories
of
two
British
SOE
officers
and
an
American
OSS
Operational
Group
who
were
parachuted
into
a
Resistance
stronghold
on
the
Vercors
plateau
is
true.
So
too
are
the
Resistance
PoW
camp
in
a
remote
valley
high
in
the
Alps and the Resistance Field Hospital.
The
first
draftof
this
novel
ended
in
August
1944
when
Grenoble
was
relieved
by
a
Task
Force
from
the
US
7th
army
and
the
collection
of
characters
whose
lives
had
'passed
unseen'
through
the
lives
of
others
went
their
separate
ways.
I
summarised
their
subsequent
lives
in
two
or
three
pages.
However,
at
the
first
edit
I
felt
this
device
was
something
of
a
'cop-out'
and
didn't
do
justice
to
the
people
whose
lives
I'd
created
so
I
extended
the
story
by
an
extra
50
or
so
pages.
I
believe
the
story
is
considerably
improved
and
the
change
more
than
justifies
the
delay
in
publication.
Although
set
in
wartime
it
is
not
a
story
of
war
but
of
human
relationships.
It
is
as
much
a
love
story
as
a
war
thriller.
It’s
historical
without
being
history
even
though
anyone
who
cares
to
decipher
the
names
and
descriptions
of
places
can
still
visit
the
locations
in
which
I've
set
the
various incidents.
Above
all,
although
many
of
the
characters
are
based
on
composites
of
real
people,
it
is
a
novel.
The
dialogue
is
entirely
imagined
and
for
that
reason
I've
changed
the
names
of
all
the
'real'
characters.
