The English Years
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Gabriel Hirschfelder is a literary icon, his book an acknowledged masterpiece. Admirers from all over the world visit his home in Southend-on-Sea to pay homage to the great man. But fame has come at a price. He fled Vienna shortly before the outbreak of war, and lived in London with the family of a judge. The judge’s wife took an instant dislike to him, but he found consolation with the Jewish maid, Clara. Their attic-room idyll did not last long, however. In 1940 he was classified an “undesirable alien” and sent to a camp with other internees on the Isle of Man.
The friends he made there changed his life forever. Who were Lomnitz and Ossovsky? And who was the fourth man, Harrasser? Was he really deported to Canada or was he murdered? What happened on the Isle of Man to haunt Hirschfelder to his dying day?
After the writer’s death, a young woman happens to meet his third and last wife and her curiosity is aroused. Her own ex-husband was obsessed with Hirschfelder, so she already knows a little bit about him. But now she feels impelled to make contact with the other women in his life, including Clara. Her search brings to light many surprises as she uncovers a story with far-reaching implications for Hirschfelder’s posthumous reputation.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Anthea
Bell
Anthea Bell OBE was an English translator of literary works, including children’s literature, from French, German and Danish. These include The Castle by Franz Kafka, Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald, the Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke and the French Asterix comics with co-translator Derek Hockridge.
Anthea Bell OBE was an English translator of literary works, including children’s literature, from French, German and Danish. These include The Castle by Franz Kafka, Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald, the Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke and the French Asterix comics with co-translator Derek Hockridge.