All The Light We Cannot See Isn't A True Story, But Is It Historically Accurate?

In the novel and series, Marie-Laure's father, Daniel, works as a locksmith at Paris' Museum of Natural History. In a 2014 interview, Anthony Doerr told Powell's that he was particularly captivated by the French initiative to smuggle the country's priceless art out of the Louvre before the Germans invaded. He said, "They really only had weeks to get all this stuff out of Paris. Rembrandts and the Mona Lisa were rolled up and moved out of the city."

In the story, the museum entrusts Daniel with the Sea of Flames — the rarest and most valuable item in its possession — to keep it safe from the Nazis. The diamond is allegedly cursed; as Daniel explains to Marie-Laure, "If you touch the stone, whoever you love will suffer terrible misfortune. But if you possess the stone, you yourself will never die."

The Sea of Flames does not exist, but it was inspired by a similar gem. "The closest analog is in the British Natural History Museum," Doerr explained. "It's a sapphire that people have believed is cursed for a long time." That stone is known as the Delhi Purple Sapphire, also called the Gem of Sorrow. It is rumored to have originated in India before being taken by a British soldier, who then experienced a series of unfortunate events. The stone developed a reputation for afflicting its owners with bad luck, which is why its final possessor recommended throwing it into the sea. Which, in the end, is exactly what Marie-Laure does to the Sea of Flames.