Publication Date: July 26, 2023
2015. Stella, a professor and historian, comes to the beautiful and ancient city of Bonn, Germany, for a World Heritage conference. With things at home tearing at the seams, she is determined to pretend all is well. At least, until she is assaulted over a trivial matter by another delegate, Professor Giovanni Costa. Bewildered, Stella descends into a shadowy observer, slowly becoming an obsessed stalker. When she meets the elderly Hildegard on a park bench by the River Rhine she is drawn into her wartime story, little seeing the similarities to her own situation.
1941. Hildegard, new wife to Kurt and student of architecture, surrenders to the inevitable; she needs a job for them to pay their rent. Interviewing for a hotel post, she does not realise her life now is off course, running on a track destined to collide with the sinister Fuhrer himself. Although repulsed, she must play along with the Fatherland ideals—to show anything but enthusiasm would not only leave her without a job but probably worse circumstances. She is thrust into the role of maid to Hitler in the infamous room 106 in a hotel he visited more than 70 times. She is no longer able to hide away from reality in her studies. Moving forward is the only option, no matter how dark it gets.
With the story switching between 2015 and 1941, Stella and Hildegard face questions of survival, identity, love and meaning as they juggle moral ambiguities in a world of elusive justice.
Separated by two decades, dual storylines intertwine to showcase two women and their struggles.
Author Jennifer Harris uses Bonn, Germany, as a backdrop for The Devil Comes to Bonn. Professor Stella Robinson finds herself caught up in a vicious cycle of revenge after a confrontation over a conference seat.
Stella is so angry about the confrontation with a fellow professor that she practically turns into a stalker, determined to make him acknowledge his rudeness. Her single-mindedness causes her to lose a valuable leadership position that would have greatly enhanced her career. Her life starts to unravel as she reflects on a childhood attack.
Stella meets Hildegard while sitting on a bench. Hildegard has an intriguing story to tell. Back in 1941, she was an architecture student but ended up working in a hotel to make ends meet. Little did she know that she would be cleaning the room where Hitler stayed while in Bonn. She soon gets pulled into resistance activities because of her special access.
These two storylines, while focusing on different time periods, highlight the struggles faced by the characters as they wrestle with their circumstances. Stella feels compelled to publicly shame the male professor rather than letting the matter go. Hildegard finds herself in dangerous circumstances that could compromise her safety.
Stella’s storyline appears to reflect a character spiraling into a dark depression. Her obsession with the male professor is rather unsettling. Meanwhile, Hildegard’s struggles in being so close to Hitler, in addition to her spy duties, reflect a definite moral quandary.
Ultimately, the storylines converge, allowing readers to draw important parallels. Seeing Stella’s character finally evolve was rewarding, although it was a lengthy process.
The Devil Comes to Bonn features dual timelines to highlight two characters facing moral dilemmas.
 
Jennifer Harris writes literary fiction inspired by the historic environment—not historical fiction, but fiction set in the contemporary era that responds to the past, remembered either publicly in monuments and memorials, or in subtle, private ways.
Her PhD is in Cultural Heritage theory and she has lectured in and researched cultural heritage and museums for many years. She has also run a small museum, and worked as a journalist in Australia and London.
Jennifer is from Western Australia and has lived also in France and the UK. In 2020 she relocated to Seattle in the spectacular Pacific Northwest of the USA.
