Somerville Writer Thomas R. Bransten Brings a Novel of Abduction, Intrigue and Romance set in France to the Paris of New England.
By Doug
Holder
A Somerville writer acquaintance of mine
took me to task recently for using the phrase “The Paris of New England” to
refer to Somerville. He said anyone who would compare Somerville to Paris has
not been to Paris. And he is right, I haven’t been to Paris. So I was a glad to
meet Somerville resident Thomas R. Bransten at meeting of the Somerville Bagel
Bards. Bransten was in Paris working as
a reporter for the United Press International and the International Herald
Tribune where he covered among other things the protracted French war with
Algeria, and two kidnappings: one of
four year old Eric Peugeot, heir to the automobile fortune, and the
kidnap-murder of seven year old Philippe Bertrand, which had most of the world
in a state of shock and outrage. The
novel Bransten wrote “A Slight Case of Guilt” also involves a kidnapping of a
young boy from a prominent family.
Bransten has lived in Somerville for a number
of years and moved from San Francisco to Massachusetts with his wife so she
could pursue her PhD at Harvard. For a long while he was an agent of Prudential
Prime Properties in Somerville, run by Somerville native sons John and Jim
Duccelli. Bransten lauds the civic spirit of Somerville, and its easy accessibility
to Boston and the outlying environs.
Bransten, 81, went to France in 1959 “To look for a woman I thought I was in love
with,” he said. He studied psychology at the Sorbonne, but realized he needed to make a
decent living when he started a family. So he
decided to try journalism, and after striking out numerous times he managed to
secure an unpaid internship of sorts with the International Herald Tribune.
Eventually
he was offered a job on the night shift, where he worked from 11PM to 10AM—6 days
a week. Later he graduated to the day desk—and went on to write many important
stories.
Bransten recalled his days covering the
Algerian War for Independence from
France. Not only did Algerian rebels commit terrorist acts in Algeria, but they bombed cafes and
buildings in Paris. Bransten told me he was minutes away from being killed by a
bomb planted outside the offices of the newspaper Le Monde. Because he got sidetracked, he missed walking
by the building by minutes.
His novel “A Slight Case of Guilt” is
loosely based on a kidnapping that took place during his stint as a journalist in
France. For the purpose of the novel it
is set in the Burgundy wine country where a young heir to the Ville De Courtray
fortune is abducted.
Bransten will be having a reading of his
novel at the Book Shop at Ball Square Feb
24, 2013 1P.M, smack dab in the Paris of New England.
As a long-time fan and supporter of Tom Branston and his writing, I am thrilled that "A Slight Case of Guilt" is now in print. The quality of the prose is so seductive that I'm sure anyone who can read will find this book absolutely delightful. My one regret is that I will not be able to attend the reading and signing in the "Paris of New England" since I live in San Diego, but I'll be there in spirit, knowing it will be a memorable experience for all participants. Wishing you all the best, Tom, from your fan, Rebe.
ReplyDelete