Publication Date: April 10, 2025
Another unforgettable story, tying together past and present, from the bestselling author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris and The Royal Librarian
Berlin, 1933. The night skies are burning bright with huge bonfires of banned books. The Nazi party is swelling in number and Berlin is no longer a safe place for young Freya.
She can only watch on, horrified, as her beloved city falls to fascism – and the usually law-abiding Freya is forced to make a choice: continue being a bystander, or sacrifice herself to save the lives of others…
New York, present day. Maddie commutes home to her family to reset. Struggling to fully turn off from her work, she is surprised to come across a pre-war German diary amongst her Grandpa’s things. And when she starts to dig into the diary, Maddie’s shocked by what she finds.
And so begins a journey that will take Maddie beyond America as she searches for the truth about Freya, and how she changed people’s lives across the globe…
Before Adolph Hitler wreaked havoc across Europe, he and his followers ignited a firestorm throughout Germany.
The impact comes to life through a dual storyline spanning two timelines in The Banned Books of Berlin. Author Daisy Wood introduces a strong female character in 1930s Germany along with her great-granddaughter in present-day New York.
While Freya watches as hate and prejudice take over, her own life is transformed. It was fascinating to see how she leveraged her dressmaking skills to secure a job at a local cabaret.
The decisions she makes as she navigates a changing landscape set the stage for generations to come. While sorting through her grandfather’s belongings, she comes across a diary that offers a link to the past.
Maddie’s search to learn more about her relative leads to startling revelations. When she compares her modern-day work issues, which involve dealing with online social media trolls, to the challenges Freya navigates, it puts things into perspective.
Just reading about the Nazis burning books they deemed unfit for their agenda makes my blood boil while also offering a cautionary tale of the slippery slope of censorship.
The Banned Books of Berlin illustrates a phenomenal dual storyline of a brave woman whose impact continues into the future.
Daisy Wood worked in publishing for some years before leaving to concentrate on her own writing. She has had several children’s books published, both historical and contemporary, and is happiest rooting about in the London Library on the pretext of research. She lives in south London and when not locked away in her study can be seen in various city parks, running after a rescue Pointer with a Basset Hound in tow. This is her fourth novel.
