“Meticulously researched and plotted like a noir thriller, The German Heiress tells a different story of WWII— of characters grappling with their own guilt and driven by the question of what they could have done to change the past.” —Jessica Shattuck, New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the CastleFor readers of The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, … The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany.
Clara Falkenberg, once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, earned the nickname “the Iron Fräulein” during World War II for her role operating her family’s ironworks empire. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. With nowhere else to run to, she decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa.
Narrowly escaping a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who’s hell-bent on arresting her for war crimes, she arrives home to discover the city in ruins, and Elisa missing. As Clara begins tracking down Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for his own reasons, is also searching for Elisa. Clara and Jakob soon discover how they might help each other—if only they can stay ahead of the officer determined to make Clara answer for her actions during the war.
Propulsive, meticulously researched, and action-fueled, The German Heiress is a mesmerizing page-turner that questions the meaning of justice and morality, deftly shining the spotlight on the often-overlooked perspective of Germans who were caught in the crossfire of the Nazi regime and had nowhere to turn.
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Anika Scott’s finely drawn characters in The German Heiress bring to life not only the struggle to rise from the ashes of war, but also the depth of resolve often required to gain redemption. Illuminating and beautifully rendered.
Scott transports readers back to Germany in the aftermath of this war, showing both the heartbreak and heroism of a once powerful businesswoman known as the Iron Fraulein. Clara Falkenberg’s confusion and compassion, the courage and corruption of those she loved—all of it resonated deeply and led me to ask, what would I have done if I were forced into her tragic position? It’s impossible to know, of course, but this remarkable novel made me dig even deeper, longing to be resilient like Clara in the face of evil…a story that will stick with you for a lifetime!
I read a lot of novels about WWII and always find it very interesting to find one from the German perspective.
The war has been over for two years and the allied forces are busy trying to find war criminals to prosecute. Germany is still in disarray with people struggling to find food and shelter so it’s fairly easy to hide from the authorities with a fake identification card. Margarete Muller is the fake name that Clara Falkenberg is using to try to return home. During the war, she ran her family ironworks company and used forced labor and inhumane practices to make cars and planes. As she returns home to find her best friend, she is also realizing how many people she hurt during the war and beginning to question her actions She always felt that she had done her best to protect her workers but the world saw her differently. Was she a cruel inhumane person, only concerned with increasing her family’s wealth or was she compassionate and caring and just caught up in family’s legacy? This is an excellent novel about someone making a personal journey and trying to make sense of their past while they strive for a better life in the future. It’s an extremely well researched novel about love and family, acceptance and betrayal and forgiveness and redemption.
Meticulously researched and plotted like a noir thriller, The German Heiress tells a different story of WWII— of characters grappling with their own guilt and driven by the question of what they could have done to change the past.
The kind of novel we need now more than ever…The German Heiress achieves what the best historical fiction can, asking us to see the past, and then pushing us to see ourselves in that past, demanding: Who would you have been then? What would you have done? Unflinching and absorbing, The German Heiress does not let you look away.
The German Heiress sheds light into the life of once famed heiress Clara Falkenberg. As we join her she is living under a false name to avoid being captured and questioned by a British officer wanting to interrogate her about her families ironworks empire. With no where to go she decides it’s best for her to return home and hide-out with her friend Elisa and her son Willy.
But when she arrives at her destination she soon learns that the home she once knew is now gone, and her friend is missing. As she continues on her quest for answers about her families most guarded secrets, and where her friend Elisa has gone off too, she soon learns that the life she once knew was not at all what it seemed.
This is a compelling story of survival, deceit, resilience, love, and redemption. This mesmerizing tale painted a dark and honest picture of the effects that war can have on those who endure it, and those who choose to cause it. I enjoyed getting lost in the pages of this one, each page was packed with action, emotion, and drama. If you are a fan of historical fiction I have no doubt this one will keep you captivated, it’s words are absorbing!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
I want to start off by saying that I won this arc copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway. In return for honest review and my thoughts. I want to also say that I enjoy historical fiction. This one has been different from any other read that I have read so far. And cant wait for this book to be released in April 7, 2020. I will be buying a finished copy. Highly recommend this book. The main female character is amazing and strong and brave.
About Book-
Set in after the WW2 1946 When Clara is set to return to home to see or find a friend. But things get challenging for her when she is stop and questioned about her acts during the war. And Clara is on the run and trying to find her friend. This is amazing after war book. I couldn’t put this book down and I was disappointed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.
Between the heights of the superhero and the lairs of the total villain lies a vast expanse occupied by ordinary people struggling to make choices under extraordinary circumstances. Set in post-World War II occupied Germany, THE GERMAN HEIRESS is the story of Clara, fleeing from accusations of war crimes, Jakob, a survivor of the Russian Front now struggling to care for his family, and the British officer who searches for Clara. Meticulously researched, this gripping historical fiction deals deftly with issues of justice and forgiveness, love and family. It kept me mesmerized throughout. This is a book you will long remember and an excellent option for book club discussion.
Interesting – brings near truth very close to home – captures the mood and the times excellently
Wow, what a deep story. Set after the war is over and the British are cleaning up, finding war criminals. Clara is from a family who owned an iron works factory. She ran it during the war when her Father was away. The German army forced them to keep it open and running. She did what she could for the poor Ukraine and other forced labor that was brought in. Even through her wealthy life there was another personal story, some of which she uncovers as this story unfolds, including her best friend. You feel the depth of struggle for life throughout and it’s hard to put down. Very well written.
I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
In her debut novel, Ms. Scott weaves the fictitious tale of a German heiress in hiding during WWII. Ms. Scott incorporates well-researched material into her story and tells her story from the perspective of a German woman caught in the crossfire of the Nazi regime that she opposes.
I highly recommend this story for lovers of WWII historical fiction.
This was such an awesome read! It’s the first novel by this author I have read and I will definitely be picking more of her work! This was such a great twist of post-WWII! I will be letting friends read this amazing novel and talking about it for months to come! Go check it out now! You will not regret it!
WWII has ended and the Allies occupy Germany and are intent on bringing to trial those who committed crimes against humanity, including the Falkenberg family. They’ve arrested one member, the patriarch, and now are now searching for Clara Falkenberg, who ran the Falkenberg factories making armaments for the German military and using slave labor to do it.
Clara has survived the war and is living incognito as a secretary in a small town near her hometown of Essen. She decides she must talk to her best friend Elisa, who she hasn’t seen in years. Without knowing whether Elisa is still alive, Clara decides to go in search of her. Her train is stopped in the middle of nowhere and she is removed from it and interrogated by a British officer who knows who she really is. He arrests her and throws her into an iron box for transport to Essen for further interrogation. She escapes and the chase is afoot.
This is a well-written, fast-paced book with an interesting and troubled main character and a host of well-drawn minor characters. It is told from the perspective of Clara, who says she did everything she could to help the slave laborers survive.
This was hard read on many levels, but it is well worth reading because Scott takes us back in time and you can almost see the devastation to the German people as well as the landscape. She writes vividly about the privations the Germans faced in post-WWII. If you like well-researched historicals set around WWII, this is the book for you and deserves to be on your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Morrow and Edelweiss for an eARC.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. This is an intriguing novel of WW II and industrialists, long lost loves and interweaved family ties. Life got in the way while I began and ended this novel. It could be a fast read.
If it weren’t for the use of profanity, I would have given this book five stars. The plot was engaging, and the characters were realistic.
A captivating, thought provoking, beautifully written debut novel focusing on life in Germany post WWII.
The German Heiress is a thought-provoking story of Clara Falkenberg, an Iron Works heiress whose reputation during the war earned her the nickname “the Iron Fräulein.” The story is mostly in third person and takes place in Post WWll Germany, although there are times we are taken back in time to better understand what someone has been through to make them who they are today.
This story was truly captivating as I got to know each of the characters and what they had been through before, during, and after the war and just how much everything has shaped them. It was extremely eye opening to just how much many Germans had to do to survive in Nazi Germany and throughout the war, and doing what they could to help, without getting caught and killed themselves.
“But it’s done. We can’t change what we did in the past. We can only act differently now.”
There are some great examples in this book of how you can’t judge someone from outside appearances. Of how you can only do your best, and if you make mistakes, do your best to learn from them and do better. Of how you never truly know how you will react in a situation until you are actually in that situation yourself. Of how to be grateful for you DO have and not fill yourself with pity for what you have lost.
“She had disturbed something she wasn’t meant to see. That much she knew. The rest- who put it there, and why- she couldn’t fathom.”
Ahh yes, and there are also some twists in this one. I do love my twisty stories
Many thanks to Harper Collins/William Morrow, Anika Scott, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC and the opportunity to share my honest, unbiased thoughts on this novel.
Favorite Quotes:
What a slippery thing conscience could be. It had driven her in two directions. To her father, with all the duties of family and work… And then she had been driven to help the workers, an act that put everything else at risk. One side of her conscience undermining the other. And still she had listened to both. She had thought she could do justice to both.
In Jakob’s experience, you had to watch the Tommies when they were being too nice. You never knew when they’d turn on you, remind you of what a Nazi you’d been, regardless of the truth. The Tommies would call you a lowly foreigner in your own country.
My Review:
She was called The Iron Fräulein, Clara Falkenberg was a curiously captivating and intriguing study of contrasts. Her mother was British yet appeared far more fanatic about the Nazi agenda than her opportunistic German father. Clara was the only daughter and the publicity darling for her wealthy family’s ironworks business, which made several more fortunes during the war using forced labor. Clara was also the former Reich’s most eligible heiress and graced magazines on both sides of the ocean. However, in post-war Germany, her notoriety worked against her.
This was my introduction to the powerful and emotive word voodoo of Anika Scott and wow, does this gal have some major skills! The storylines were smartly crafted and absorbing, intricate, well scaffolded, intriguing, thoughtfully observant, and heart-squeezing while cast with a peculiar assortment of broken, flawed, complex, and often unlikable yet deeply compelling characters. I felt conflicted yet totally engaged from start to finish. And all this in a debut novel… the little pea in my brain just exploded.
The writing is so beautiful. The story is filled with suspense and wonder. The characters are richly developed and draws me emotionally into the story. Claire even though caught up with family loyalty still wanted to have a heart of integrity and convicted and in the end hopefully do what is right. Anika Scott has become my new favorite author!
What a great debut! I loved this book, especially since it looks at the aftermath of war from a rare perspective: the appalling suffering that Germans faced in their devastated cities after 1945, and the guilt of those who’d followed the Nazi rules. It still haunts me, days after finishing it.
I loved [The German Heiress]. It’s a special novel that opens one’s mind to aspects of history we on the “winning” side have given little thought to, and a moving story of courage and everyday heroism rising to meet unbearable challenges.