The Kellner Affair tells the fascinating story of some of the most influential people in the French luxury car business before the War and how they came together and fought bravely against the Nazi occupation force in Paris. It tells how they formed a resistance group and gathered intelligence ̶ how they were betrayed by double agents, and how they were executed in 1942.
These people included the famous coachbuilder Jacques Kellner, the designer Georges Paulin, and Walter Sleator, the director of Rolls-Royce France, who survived. The book goes deeply into their talent, their work, their lives, their cars, their loved ones and relies on newly discovered archive material as well as private documents that have never previously been published.
The Kellner Affair is the first factual account of these tragic and gripping events: what happened, how it happened, who was to blame, who was punished, and who was not.
Volumes I and II also include an in-depth discussion of aerodynamic cars, the famous streamlined designs of Georges Paulin, and the duplicitous way in which Walter Sleator assumed control of Rolls-Royce France after the Liberation. In addition, Volume III contains a large portfolio of period images of Kellner-bodied cars such as Hispano-Suiza, Renault, Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Farman, and many more, along with period articles and a wealth of design drawings as well as facsimile reprints of Kellner brochures. The USB flashdrive in Volume III links to 401 pages of scanned source and reference material that document the book.
- Title: The Kellner Affair - Matters Of Life and Death
- Authors: Peter M. Larsen and Ben Erickson
- Publisher: Dalton Watson
- Forthcoming Release Date: January, 2018
- Page count: 1,056
- Flash Drive: 401 pages + 388 images
- Images: Total images: 1,568
- Limited to 1,000 numbered copies signed by the authors
- Price: $445.00 Hardbound
- Price: $1950,- Leatherbound limited edition
Click here to view sample pages.
Author Biographies
Peter M. Larsen
Born in 1954, Peter Larsen has been a chronic gearhead all his life. Those who were there have said that the first word he learned to utter was "Opel". Peter Larsen is a Fulbright scholar and holds a Ph.D. in English literature and semiotics from the University of Copenhagen and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Read more about Peter M. Larsen.
Ben Erickson
Born in 1975, Ben Erickson grew up in Minnesota, where he was doodling cars long before he could read and write. A special interest are American cars from the challenging years in the 1970s and 1980s when, as Ben says, 'they did the best with what they had'. ISO, all things Maserati, especially the Biturbos and other cars by Alejandro DeTomaso hold a special place in his heart, as do Volvos and SAABs. Read more about Ben Erickson.
