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The Lost Boys

A Family Ripped Apart by War

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Berlin, September 1944. Ulrich von Hassell, former ambassador to Italy and a key member of the German Resistance, is executed for his part in an assassination plot against Hitler. In response to the attack, Himmler, leader of the SS, orders the arrest of all the families of the plotters.

In a remote castle in Italy, von Hassell's beloved daughter, Fey, is discovered just when she thought she had escaped the Nazi net. She is arrested and her two sons, aged three and two are seized by the SS. Fey has no idea of her children's fate as she is dragged away on a terrifying journey to the darkest corners of a Europe savaged by war.

Moving from a palazzo in the heart of the Italian countryside to the horrors of Buchenwald, Catherine Bailey tells an extraordinary story of resistance at the heart of the Second World War. The Lost Boys is an illuminating and devastating account of great personal sacrifice, of loss and, above all, of defiance.

 20th Century Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Europe Historical Italy Military Modern War

Critic reviews

Extraordinary. A rich and deep portrait. . . a gripping read
Catherine Bailey has already demonstrated a truly remarkable ability to intertwine searing family histories with great historical events. With The Lost Boys she outdoes even herself, with a true story that simultaneously shows huge personal empathy with the fate of two toddler brothers as well as a profound understanding of the pure evil that lurked at the heart of the Third Reich
I was gripped by The Lost Boys - it contained more tension, more plot in fact - than any thriller and was written with her usual extraordinary clarity and panache. To say that she makes history come alive is such a cliché and yet it's so true, she is absolutely one of my favourite writers
Bailey has an extraordinary talent for bringing history to life and The Lost Boys is as thrilling as any novel
Remarkable . . . The Lost Boys is a powerful, engrossing story of a journey into the heart of darkness and final escape from it
Bailey has a knack for bringing characters to life . . . Fascinating
One of the most harrowing, beautifully written and brilliantly researched books I have read in a very long time. I was completely absorbed from first page to last, and I enormously admire both Catherine Bailey's dedication to her subject and her expertise in recounting such a complex narrative. She is brilliant at conveying both character and location, and maintains an extraordinary control over every section of the story
Bailey has an extraordinary ability to penetrate right to the heart of a family and uncover often painful stories. An important book [that] reads like a terrifying thriller
Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the First World War
Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story.
All stars
Most relevant
A well researched and beautifully told story. I was amazed by Bailey’s detailed and extensive knowledge. A single niggle for me was the narrator’s inability (or unwillingness to try) to pronounce even the easy German place names in a recognisable way.

Fascinating

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Quite a lot of padding, but it’s a story that needed telling and it was told well. Read well too, but I could have done without the female reader trying to imitate a male voice!

Gripping!

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Literally unbelievable story, how were these war survivors so brave and resilient?! In the face of unspeakable hardship and heartbreak. A very well written and read true story. I was gripped from the start and either holding my breath or heartbroken throughout.

ALL TRUE, we must never forget..

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is interesting and apparently well told but the narration is quite dreadful, the attempts at differing voices does not work at all and is distracting and takes away from the book/story.
I will not be having a book read by Laura Kirwan again. It was quite awful.

The story

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Currently typing up my father’s war diaries from the Italian campaign this amazingly detailed researched book ties in with his notes. Although he only writes about his experiences and not any of his actual work (which was prohibited), and along with other published diaries and books I am awestruck and amazed with how people coped with the brutality and mentality of the Nazi ideology of the Second World War.

Second War war in Italy

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