Thursday, October 27, 2011

The secrets of the notebook

When Eve Haas was sixteen her father showed her a special family notebook. The cover had a royal insignia and inside was an inscription signed by Prince August of Prussia. Eve was told that Prince August was her great great grandfather who had married Emilie Gottschalk, the daughter of a Jewish tailor. She was told no other information except that she was not to investigate this story, however one day the notebook would belong to her.

Many years later Eve and her husband decided that they needed to know the story of the notebook and in particular to learn of the lives of three generations of women Emilie, Charlotte and Anna. It was the time of the Cold War so investigations had to be made in East Berlin, a dangerous place for German Jews now living in Britain to enter. This book outlines Eve's story as she searches for the truth about her family and why all mention of Prince August and his family had been hidden for generations. In her search she discovers stories of political intrigue and struggle for power within the Hollenstedt family.

No comments: