Forgotten SOE Hero Remembered: New Book Uncovers the Tragic Story of Maurice Pertschuk
Cover of The Moon in Splinters
Anne Whiteside, author of 'The Moon in Splinters'
'The Moon in Splinters' by Anne Whiteside from Chiselbury, uncovering the forgotten story of SOE agent Maurice Pertschuk — poet, soldier, resistance leader
Maurice was a poet as well as a fighter. His courage deserves not only remembrance but understanding. I wrote this book to give him back his voice”
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, September 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Chiselbury Publishing is proud to announce the publication of 'The Moon in Splinters' by Anne Whiteside, a moving and meticulously researched account that brings to light the extraordinary life and tragic death of British Special Operations Executive (SOE) lieutenant Maurice Pertschuk.— Anne Whiteside
On a moonless night in 1942, Maurice Pertschuk, a handsome and brilliant 20-year-old officer, rowed ashore on the Côte d’Azur to support the French Resistance. Just three years later, he was executed at Buchenwald concentration camp—only thirteen days before its liberation. Within the camp, Maurice scribbled poems on scraps of paper, later published in 1946 as Leaves of Buchenwald.
For decades, silence shrouded his story. Only after the death of her mother did Maurice’s niece, Anne Whiteside, begin to search for the truth. In The Moon in Splinters, she retraces his footsteps through wartime France, uncovers new archival evidence, and speaks with survivors’ families. What emerges is a compelling portrait of a young man of “imaginative audacity”—a romantic intellectual turned resistance leader—whose vast, yet little-known network in southern France was betrayed, leading to his arrest, torture, and deportation.
This deeply personal journey intertwines history, biography, and memoir, culminating in revelations even more sinister than the official accounts.
Key Features of The Moon in Splinters:
A gripping true story of espionage, resistance, and betrayal.
Unpublished insights into a largely forgotten SOE network in France.
The intertwining of personal family quest and historical investigation.
Includes Maurice Pertschuk’s poetry, smuggled from Buchenwald.
Publication Details:
Title: The Moon in Splinters
Author: Anne Whiteside
Publisher: Chiselbury Publishing
Publication Date: 1 September 2025
ISBN: 978-1 916556-74-4 (Hardback)
ISBN: 978-1-917837-06-4 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-917837-07-1 (epub)
Format: Hardback, Paperback & eBook
Availability: Chiselbury, Amazon and all leading booksellers
About the Author
Anne Whiteside is the niece of Maurice Pertschuk, the young SOE agent executed at Buchenwald in 1945. She first studied Franco-British relations listening in on conversations between her French mother and British father.
She’s spent the last 10 years researching 'The Moon in Splinters'. Early on she studied art, anthropology, then did a doctorate in educational linguistics, about which she’s written/edited a number of articles and books. For over 30 years she taught English to immigrants, teachers at San Francisco State University and undergraduates at U.C. Berkeley; she’s lectured in Ireland, Spain, Algeria and France, and had a Fulbright teaching/research fellowship in Mexico.
The Moon in Splinters is her first book of literary non-fiction.
For review copies, interviews, or further information, please contact: info@chiselbury.co.uk
Stuart Leasor
Chiselbury Publishing
+44 7703 537721
email us here
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