The Seventh Cross - Couverture rigide

Seghers, Anna

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0349010668 ISBN 13 : 9780349010663

Editeur : Virago, 2018

Synopsis

A rediscovered German classic novel from 1942, never before published in the UK, The Seventh Cross is both a gripping escape story and a powerful novel of resistance.

'At once a suspenseful manhunt story and a knowing portrait of the perils of ordinary life in Hitler's Germany, The Seventh Cross is not only an important novel, but an important historical document. This new, unabridged translation is a genuine publishing event' JOSEPH KANON, author of The Good German and Leaving Berlin

'A masterpiece. Written in the midst of terror, but with such clarity, such acuity; Seghers is a writer of rare insight' Rachel Seiffert, author of A Boy in Winter

Seven prisoners escape from Westhofen concentration camp. Seven crosses are erected in the grounds and the commandant vows to capture the fugitives within a week. Six men are caught quickly, but George Heisler slips through his pursuers' fingers and it becomes a matter of pride to track him down, at whatever cost.

Who can George trust? Who will betray him? The years of fear have changed those he knew best: his brother is now an SS officer; his lover turns him away. Hunted, injured and desperate, time is running out for George, and whoever is caught aiding his escape will pay with their life.

The Seventh Cross powerfully documents the insidious rise of a fascist regime - the seething paranoia, the sudden arrests, the silence and fear.


'A fascinating insight into life in pre-war Nazi Germany just as the horrors of the Nazi regime were beginning to unfold. This is an important novel, as much for its picture of German society as for its insight into the psyche of ordinary people confronting their personal fears and mixed loyalties' Simon Mawer, author of The Glass Room

'It was [Seghers] who taught my generation and anyone who had an ear to listen after that not-to-be-forgotten war to distinguish right from wrong. The Seventh Cross shaped me; it sharpened my vision' - Gunter Grass

The Seventh Cross was written by one of the most important German writers of the twentieth century. Her aim was to write, 'A tale that makes it possible to get to know the many layers of fascist Germany through the fortunes of a single man.' She had four copies of the manuscript: one was destroyed in an air raid; a friend lost the second copy while fleeing the Nazis; another was found by the Gestapo; only the fourth copy survived, which, fortunately, she sent to her publisher in America just before she escaped Nazi-occupied France. Published in 1942, The Seventh Cross was an immediate bestseller and was the basis for an MGM film starring Spencer Tracy in 1944. It has been translated into more than 40 languages.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

ANNA SEGHERS (1900-1983) was one of the most important German writers of the twentieth century. Born Netty Reiling in Mainz, and of Jewish descent, she received a doctorate in art history at the University of Heidelberg, joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1928, and soon began to publish novels and short stories. After the 1940 Nazi invasion of France, Seghers, her husband and their two children sailed from Marseilles to Mexico. She gained international recognition with The Seventh Cross (1939), which became an international bestseller. It was the basis for the 1944 MGM film starring Spencer Tracy and was one of the only depictions of Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War in either literature or film. After the war she returned to Germany, settling in East Berlin.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

'A masterpiece. Written in the midst of terror, but with such clarity, such acuity; Seghers is a writer of rare insight'
Rachel Seiffert, author of A Boy in Winter

'At once a suspenseful manhunt story and a knowing portrait of the perils of ordinary life in Hitler's Germany, The Seventh Cross is not only an important novel, but an important historical document. This new, unabridged translation is a genuine publishing event.'
Joseph Kanon, author of The Good German and Leaving Berlin

'A fascinating insight into life in pre-war Nazi Germany just as the horrors of the Nazi regime were beginning to unfold. This is an important novel, as much for its picture of German society as for its insight into the psyche of ordinary people confronting their personal fears and mixed loyalties while an escapee from an early concentration camp attempts to avoid recapture'
Simon Mawer, author of The Glass Room

'It was [Seghers] who taught my generation and anyone who had an ear to listen after that not-to-be-forgotten war to distinguish right from wrong. The Seventh Cross shaped me; it sharpened my vision' Gunter Grass

À propos de la deuxième de couverture

Probably no trees ever cut down in our country were as unique, as strange as the seven plane trees growing at the gable end of Barracks III. Their crowns, for a reason to be revealed at a later time, had previously been cut off and a board had been nailed across each of the tree trunks at shoulder height. From afar, the seven plane trees looked like seven crosses.

Seven prisoners escape from Westhofen concentration camp. The commandant vows to capture the fugitives within seven days. Six are caught quickly and brutally made an example of, but George Heisler slips through his pursuers' fingers. It becomes a matter of pride to track him down, whatever the cost.

Who can George trust? Who will betray him? The years of fear have changed those whom he knew best: his favourite brother is now an SS officer; his lover turns him away. Hunted, injured and desperate, time is running out for George, and whoever is caught aiding his escape him will pay with their life.

The Seventh Cross, a German classic novel from 1942, powerfully documents the insidious rise of a fascist regime - the seething paranoia, the sudden arrests, the silence and fear.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Virago
• Date d'édition: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0349010668
• ISBN 13: 9780349010663
• Reliure: Relié
• Langue: anglais
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 400
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible