{"title":"Books by Christabel Bielenberg","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780552165143","title":"The Past is Myself \u0026 The Road Ahead Omnibus","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBrought together for the first time in one edition, both of Christabel Bielenberg's bestselling memoirs give an incredibly moving, emotionally charged and compelling insight into life in Nazi Germany during The Third Reich and during the aftermath of World War Two. Offering a new perspective, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the wartime era.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This is one of the best WWII books I have ever read' --\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e'An excellent book and a must-read for anyone interested in this era' --\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e'Absorbing' --\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e'Intensely moving' --\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e'A wonderful book. I couldn't put it down' --\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Past is Myself\u003cbr\u003eChristabel Bielenberg, a niece of newspaper magnate Lord Northcliffe, married a German lawyer in 1934. She lived through the war in Germany, as a German citizen under the horrors of Nazi rule and Allied bombings. \u003ci\u003eThe Past is Myself\u003c\/i\u003e is her story of that experience - and an unforgettable portrait of an evil time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Road Ahead\u003cbr\u003eFollowing the extraordinary success of her wartime memoir, \u003ci\u003eThe Past is \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eMyself\u003c\/i\u003e, Christabel Bielenberg received thousands of letters from readers begging her to describe what happened next. In \u003ci\u003eThe Road Ahead\u003c\/i\u003e she continues her story with the outbreak of peace - a time of struggle for reconciliation with, and the rebuilding of, a defeated nation. She also tells of life in her newly adopted country, Ireland, her involvement with the Peace Women of Northern Ireland, and with characteristic modesty and gratitude, looks back on a rich, full life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnyone interested in the Second World War and life in the 1930s and 1940s will devour these unflinchingly honest and enthralling memoirs, published together in one edition for the first time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291138371957,"sku":"9780552165143","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552165143_867aa4c1-31b6-416c-9365-a46d48e6c8e0.jpg?v=1786013987"},{"product_id":"9781804994993","title":"The Past Is Myself","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn 29 September 1934, at the German Embassy office in London, Christabel Bielenberg officially became a German citizen. Having met her German husband Peter two years prior, Christabel decided to renounce her British citizenship, planning to start married life with Peter in Berlin. Though Adolf Hitler had risen to power in 1933, Christabel and Peter were convinced the German people would see through the newly elected chancellor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut soon Christabel found herself living under the horrors of Nazi rule and Allied bombings as the war progressed. Closely associated with resistance circles, her husband was arrested after the failure of the plot against Hitler’s life on 20 July 1944, and she herself was interrogated by the Gestapo. Though she lived in constant fear for her and her family’s safety, Christabel survived the war with the help of other like-minded Germans who were against Hitler and the Third Reich.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith various memorable encounters – from a simple-minded Nazi official who was also her odd-job gardener to the good-hearted Black Forest villagers who sheltered her till the liberation – Christabel shares not only the hardships and worry but also the humour and humanity she found during these dark days. The human dimension of her writing brings about an unforgettable portrait of an evil time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307594035573,"sku":"9781804994993","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781804994993_600f95c5-c533-4b28-befc-0533d46fd6dd.jpg?v=1786028484"},{"product_id":"the-road-ahead","title":"The Road Ahead","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing the extraordinary success of her wartime memoirs, \u003ci\u003eThe Past Is Myself\u003c\/i\u003e, Christabel Bielenberg received thousands of letters from readers begging her to describe what happened next.  The Road Ahead takes up the story at the moment the first volume left off - with the outbreak of peace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGermany was devastated by war and its aftermath, while Britain seemed grey and exhausted to Christabel.  She was soon appointed the Observer's special correspondent in Germany, and, reunited with her husband, Peter (technically an enemy alien), she joined the struggle for reconciliation with, and the rebuilding of, a defeated nation.  It was Peter's near-fatal accident and her own illness which decided the young couple to turn their backs on England and Germany and make a new start farming in Ireland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLife was harsh at first, but predictably Christabel found humour in the accidents of poverty and the many mishaps of country life.  The beautiful scenery of the Wicklow Mountains provided a haven for the family and for the hosts of young people from all over the world who joined them each summer.  Christabel became involved with the Peace Women of Northern Ireland and learned as much as she could about the adopted country she had grown to love so passionately.  Taking her seventieth birthday as a stopping point for a life that even now, some fourteen further years on, is as rich and full as it ever was, she looks back with characteristic modesty and gratitude.  Her readers will be enchanted by this second volume of memoirs, as clear-sighted and generous, as honest, funny, touching and brave as \u003ci\u003eThe Past Is Myself\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481547284853,"sku":"9780552163668","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552163668.jpg?v=1786089817"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-christabel-bielenberg.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}