Small Acts of Defiance

The remarkable debut novel from acclaimed prize-winning short fiction writer Michelle Wright, author of Fine.


'A beautifully intimate portrait that celebrates the courage and resilience of the human spirit.' Jane Harper, author of The Survivors


'Historical fiction of the highest order ... An engrossing, deeply-satisfying read, one of the year's outstanding, not-to-be missed debuts. ' Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman's Wife 


'A powerful and elegantly wrought story of women's resistance. This is required reading for our times.' Myfanwy Jones, author of Leap


'. . . a gripping, meticulously researched novel, and a nuanced, poetic and deeply serious exploration of the difference that individual choices can make in a society crumbling physically and morally. Wright recreates occupied Paris with immediacy and with melancholy tenderness . . . This is a book to savour and treasure.' Lee Kofman, author of Imperfect


May, 1940: After a bitter tragedy, young Australian woman Lucie and her French mother Yvonne are forced to leave home and seek help from the only family they have left-Lucie's uncle, Gerard.


As the Second World War engulfs Europe, the two women find themselves trapped in German-occupied Paris, sharing a cramped apartment with the authoritarian Gerard and his extremist views.


Drawing upon her artistic talents, Lucie risks her own safety to engage in small acts of defiance against the occupying forces and the collaborationist French regime, where the authorities reward French citizens for denouncing so-called 'traitors' in their community.


Faced with the escalating brutality of anti-Jewish measures, and the indifference of so many of her fellow Parisians, Lucie must decide how far she will go to defend the rights of others.