House of Exile

House of Exile

Summary

When the Nazis began destroying lives across Europe and artists became state enemies, Nelly Kroeger, a tall, blonde ex-barmaid, and writer and political activist Heinrich Mann - twenty-seven years her senior and top of the list at Goebbels's book-burnings - fled together, first to France, then to Los Angeles.

Interweaving stories from their friends, relatives and literary contemporaries - Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, James Joyce, Franz Kafka and Virginia Woolf - House of Exile tells the remarkable story of Nelly and Heinrich, a couple divided by class and their own families, and of their unconventional love in a time of war.

Reviews

  • 'Full of intelligence, wit, humour and a deep sense for the oddness of people and the mysteries of the creative life'
    David Malouf

About the author

Evelyn Juers

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