Author Mark Perlman will speak to the New Canaan Men’s Club Friday, Aug. 9, about his historical novel, The Reluctant Soldier, which follows the exploits of an African American soldier assigned to the Harlem Hellfighters regiment in World War I to his return to France between the wars and his actions in the French Resistance during World War II.
The Men’s Club meeting will be in Morrill Hall at St. Marks Episcopal Church beginning at 10 a.m. with Perlman’s talk beginning around 10:40 a.m.
The novel weaves real events and famous people of the time, such as Ernest Hemingway and Josephine Baker, who come in contact with the novel’s main character, Virgil Carpenter, against the backdrop of the two wars and the Jazz Age in Paris.
Perlman spent 15 years in doing research for the novel traveling to Paris and the regions serving as the novel’s backdrop, and searching through military institutions and libraries. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Northeastern University in Boston.
The Men’s Club has openings for new members. Men 55-years old and above interested in joining can get information about the club by emailing ncmens@ncmens.club.