The Prisoner's Wife

Zusatztext "A powerful love story that exquisitely depicts the courage and strength of the human spirit in the face of the tremendous cost of war."-- Chanel Cleeton , New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to Key West , on The Prisoner's Wife More praise for The Prisoner's Wife "A powerful page-turner."-- Marie Benedict , New York Times bestselling author of Lady Clementine "You will be spellbound by this stellar debut."-- Susan Meissner , Bestselling author of The Last Year of the War "Perhaps the most unique World War II story I've ever readA complete winner."-- Sarah-Jane Stratford , Author of Red Letter Days Avid readers of stories about the Holocaust should be prepared to be awestruck by this portrayal of a seldom-shared aspect of the war The Prisoner's Wife is tale of epic proportions. It does not shrink from the cruelty of war which, in this telling, is offset only by the strength of love.-- The Jewish Voice and Opinion "A heady mix of young passion, love, courage and hope in a dark world. I so hope that Bill and Izabella get away but this has captured me."-- Giles Kristian , author of Lancelot "Based on the experiences of real people and real events, The Prisoner's Wife seamlessly and skilfully breathes intense, fully realised life into the stark scenes it describes...I was by turns moved, outraged and humbled."-- Deborah Kay Davies , author of True Things About Me "An engrossing, harrowing and heart-warming novel that reveals humanity at its best and worst."-- Ann Morgan , author of Reading The World "An absorbing and engaging tale of wartime bravery and endurance. I loved it!"-- Rachel Hore , author of Last Letter Home and The Memory Garden "A story of danger, fear, determination and the redemptive power of love in war-torn Europe. Maggie Brooke's extensive research and novelist's sensitivity have succeeded in bringing a previously hidden story into the light."-- Juliet Gardiner , author of Wartime; Britain 1939 to 1945 and The Blitz; The British Under Attack. "Heart wrenching and heart-warming in equal measurean unputdownable novel"-- Ben Kane , author of The Eagles of Rome series 'When a debut is praised by the likes of Jojo Moyes, you know it's worth readingYou won't be able to put down this tender and heartbreaking read."-- Judith Allnat , author of The Poet's Wife and The Silk Factory "A gripping debut novel...I feel enriched to have read it."-- Gill Paul , author of The Lost Daughter and The Secret Wife "Tremendous ... this is much more than a love story; it's about the instinct for survival, the value of friends, and the power of hope even in the midst of terror."-- Georgina Clarke , author of Death and the Harlot This is a remarkable story. Most of all, The Prisoner's Wife is a story of endurance.-- San Diego Jewish World This heartrending tale of hope reaches through the pages, reminding readers that with love and friendship even the darkest and most unbearable nights will eventually end. While The Prisoner's Wife is a love story, it is also a narrative about humanity's intrepid drive to survive, even when it seems that all hope is lost.-- Hearst Connecticut Media Informationen zum Autor Maggie Brookes is a British ex-journalist and BBC television producer turned poet and novelist. She is an advisory fellow for the Royal Literary Fund and also an Associate Professor at Middlesex University, London, England, where she has taught creative writing since 1990. She lives in London and Whitstable, Kent and is married, with two grown-up daughters. She...

Auteur

Maggie Brookes is a British ex-journalist and BBC television producer turned poet and novelist. She is an advisory fellow for the Royal Literary Fund and also an Associate Professor at Middlesex University, London, England, where she has taught creative writing since 1990. She lives in London and Whitstable, Kent and is married, with two grown-up daughters. She has published five poetry collections in the UK under her married name of Maggie Butt.

Texte du rabat

Inspired by the true story of a daring deception that plunges a courageous young woman deep into the horrors of a Nazi POW camp to be with the man she loves.

In the dead of night, a Czech farm girl and a British soldier travel through the countryside. Izabela and prisoner of war Bill have secretly married and are on the run, with Izzy dressed as a man. The young husband and wife evade capture for as long as possible-until they are cornered by Nazi soldiers with tracking dogs.

Izzy's disguise works. The couple are assumed to be escaped British soldiers and transported to a POW camp. However, their ordeal has just begun, as they face appalling living conditions and the constant fear of Izzy's exposure. But in the midst of danger and deprivation comes hope, for the young couple are befriended by a small group of fellow prisoners. These men become their new family, willing to jeopardize their lives to save Izzy from being discovered and shot.

The Prisoner's Wife tells of an incredible risk, and of how our deepest bonds are tested in desperate times. Bill and Izzy's story is one of love and survival against the darkest odds.

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Chapter One

War had ripped across Europe for five years-a great tornado, scattering families, tearing millions of people from their loved ones forever. But sometimes, just sometimes, it threw them together. Like with me and Bill. A Czech farm girl and a London boy who would never have met, hurled into each other's path. And we reached out, caught hold and gripped each other tight.

We had the Oily Captain to thank for bringing us together. I always thought of him as the Oily Captain because there was something too eager to please in his manner that made me despise him. Although he was a Nazi officer, he was nothing like the bands of SS who descended without warning to search the farm and interrogate us about my father and my older brother, Jan.

We knew at once that he was different, because the first day he turned up at the farm, he even knocked at the back door before he pushed it open. He stood silhouetted in the doorframe, stocky and well-fed on "requisitioned" farm produce.

My mother was by the sink, cutting potatoes. She dropped a potato in the water and turned, keeping the knife in her right hand.

In one glance he took in the kitchen-the knife, my mother in her apron, me with my books spread out on the table and Marek playing on the floor.

"Do you speak German?" he asked her politely, although most people in our region spoke nothing else.

"Of course," my mother replied in her impeccable High German accent, brushing a wisp of hair from her eyes with the back of her left hand. I nodded too, imperceptibly.

His face brightened. "May I come in?"

My mother made a small flick of her fingers, which meant "Can I stop you?" and he took a step forward.

She rested her knife hand on the edge of the sink and frowned at the mud he'd walked onto her clean floor. My little brother, Marek, stood up. He was only eight, but took his position as man of the house very seriously.

The captain removed his hat. Beneath it his hair was short and peppered with gray. He had the open face of a countryman used to looking at the sky. His lips were thin and maybe mean, but the wrinkles around his eyes spoke of someone who liked to laugh. He seemed older with his hat off.

"I've been looking over your farm. . . ." My mother's face darkened, and he waved his innocence. "I want to offer you some help to bring in the crops."

Only so you can confiscate them, I thought, and knew my mother was thinking the same. They requisitioned every turnip, every bushel of oats, every ham we produced.

"I've got a working party of prisoners of war from the sawmill at Mankendorf. They're improving the road for the timber lorries, but I could spare a man or two to help you at the busiest times. My orders are to improve for…