The
Prisoner's Wife
by
publication: May 26th 2020 by Berkley Books
Inspired by the
true story of a daring deception that plunges a courageous young woman deep
into the horrors of a Nazi POW camp to be with the man she loves.
In the dead of night, a Czech farm girl and a British soldier travel through
the countryside. Izabela and prisoner of war Bill have secretly married and are
on the run, with Izzy dressed as a man. The young husband and wife evade
capture for as long as possible--until they are cornered by Nazi soldiers with
tracking dogs.
Izzy's disguise works. The couple are assumed to be escaped British soldiers
and transported to a POW camp. However, their ordeal has just begun, as they
face appalling living conditions and the constant fear of Izzy's exposure. But
in the midst of danger and deprivation comes hope, for the young couple are befriended
by a small group of fellow prisoners. These men become their new family,
willing to jeopardize their lives to save Izzy from being discovered and shot.
The Prisoner's Wife tells of an incredible risk, and of how our
deepest bonds are tested in desperate times. Bill and Izzy's story is one of
love and survival against the darkest odds.
My Thoughts…
I could not
stop reading. The story is set in an
era I love but it has the unique twist of being told from a POW, a woman
POW. The even bigger twist is that the
woman POW must pretend to be a man for her entire time being in the POW
camp. Can you even imagine all that
must entail? Hiding your womanly shape
and features, not growing hair (shaving) as a man would, and dealing with your
period when it arrives. I cannot even imagine all the Izzy went
through just to stay alive and with her husband.
The characters
of Bill and Izzy were perfect for the story.
They met each other under difficult, to say the least,
circumstances. They fell in love
without knowing a lot about each other.
They took risks to stay together and their love grew stronger. They learned about each other in times that
did not allow them to have discussions, to fight and have time to cool off,
they had to stay calm and stay together to stay alive.
The Prisoner’s
Wife is a phenomenal historical story.
It shows the life POW’s lived, it showed how love can be achieved even
during war, and it showed how strong women and men were forced to be just to
stay alive during WWII. I would have
loved an epilogue with a glimpse into the future of Mr. and Mrs. Bill King and
see how the lived after the war was over.
Meet Maggie
Brookes
Maggie Brookes
is a British ex-journalist and BBC television producer turned poet and
novelist.
The Prisoner’s Wife is based on an extraordinary true story of love and
courage, told to her by an ex-WW2 prisoner of war. Maggie visited the Czech
Republic, Poland and Germany as part of her research for the book, learning
largely forgotten aspects of the war.
The Prisoner’s Wife is due to be published by imprints of Penguin Random House
in the UK and in the US in May 2020. Publication in other countries, including
Holland, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will follow.
As well as being a writer, Maggie is an advisory fellow for the Royal Literary
Fund and also an Associate Professor at Middlesex University, London, England,
where she has taught creative writing since 1990. She lives in London and
Whitstable, Kent and is married, with two grown-up daughters.
