The Prisoner is the much-anticipated sequel to Persephone Books’s recent best-seller, Crooked Cross by Sally Carson. The novel opens in August 1933, just a few weeks after ***Crooked Cross***ended. Set mostly in Munich, it describes the lives of the Kluger family as Nazism strengthens its grip on Germany: we watch as Erich’s commitment to the Party grows, while Helmy's struggles to accept its strictures threatens to be the family’s undoin...

Crooked Cross describes, through the eyes of one ordinary family, the Nazis’ growth in power between December 1932 and August 1933. It is extraordinarily prescient, anticipating all the horrors they were about to inflict on the world. The main focus of the novel is on disaffected German youth: it shows with great subtlety that by the early 1930s there was huge unemployment, and a corresponding feeling of futility, and that what the Nazis did so skilfully was to provide a sense of purpose. ...

“A novel of unusual power and poignant interest” (Northern Whig)“This is certainly the finest novel on modern Germany I have read. (John O’ London’s Weekly)“Sally Carson, who gave us such a vivid picture of Germany inside her clever book Crooked Cross has given her readers another wonderful story showing the terrible crisis through which the German nation is passing today [...].” (Bournemouth Graphic)“A deep...

THE INCIDENTS IN THIS BOOK ARE BASED ON REAL EVENTS.THE NAMES WERE CHANGED TO PROTECT THE GUILTY FROM BEING SUED BY THE INNOCENT.Paul and Julie Carson were living the suburban dream. They fell in love, got married, took out a large mortgage (despite having only a small income) and were parents to the requisite 2.5 adorable children…OK then, it was actually only 2.0. The opportunity to take an extended trip to Europe was forsaken before all the responsibility kicked in, and t...

"Sally Carson's prescient novel offers an unflinching look at the early days of Nazism, resonating with today's fears of lost boys, strong men and old hatreds... A remarkable novel: chilling, compelling, contained..." The Times"...warrants a permanent place in the growing canon of World War Two literature." Clare McHugh, BBC CultureIt is Christmas Eve 1932, and the Kluger family are celebrating at home. Their only daughter Lexa is excited about her upcomin...