Mandy Robotham's The German Midwife is a Powerful and Unforgettable Debut

Mandy Robotham’s The German Midwife is a Powerful and Unforgettable Debut

An enthralling tale from the #1 Globe and Mail and USA Today bestselling author

Germany, 1944: A political prisoner in the labour camps, Anke Hoff is doing what she can to keep her pregnant campmates and their newborns alive.

But when Anke’s work is noticed, she is chosen for a task more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. Eva Braun is pregnant with the Führer’s child, and Anke is assigned as her midwife.

Before long, Anke is faced with an impossible choice. Does she serve the Reich she loathes and keep the baby alive? Or does she sacrifice an innocent child for the good of a broken world?

Mandy Robotham’s incredible debut, The German Midwife, is an unforgettable tale of courage, betrayal and survival in the hardest of circumstances, perfect for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Alice Network.

In our Q&A with Robotham, she shares how her own experience working as a midwife inspired her to write the novel and this really shows; the descriptions of childbirth throughout the story are graphic, messy and emotionally charged. It’s clear that Robotham takes great pride in her work, and she spares no detail during these scenes, so much so that you feel as if you’re present with Anke in the delivery room, coaxing new life into the world.

Another strength of The German Midwife is its focus on women’s experiences during this period. Robotham manages to a give a voice to women from all walks of life – whether they’re an expectant Jewish mother in a hellish labour camp or Hitler’s mistress on a Bavarian mountain top. The story also features several strong female characters, none more so than the deeply compelling protagonist, Anke. As you follow Anke’s heart-wrenching journey from the inhumane conditions at Ravensbrück concentration camp to the dangerous path she must tread among Hitler’s inner circle, you’ll marvel at her inner strength, defiance, and empathy.

I was hooked from the first page to the last. From its unique premise to its beautiful prose and harrowing subject matter, The German Midwife is a tremendous debut, and the sort of novel you’ll be sorry to finish. But there is some good news: Mandy Robotham has two new historical novels that are sure to fill the gaping hole The German Midwife left in my heart. The Secret Messenger is out now, and The Berlin Girl is set for release later this year. I can’t wait to get my hands on both of these.

Synopsis

An enthralling tale from the #1 Globe and Mail and USA Today Best Selling Author.“A powerful, haunting debut”-Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice NetworkAn enthralling new tale of courage, betrayal and survival in the hardest of circumstances that readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Secret Orphan and The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz will love.Germany, 1944. A prisoner in the camps, Anke Hoff is doing what she can to keep her pregnant campmates and their newborns alive.But when Anke's work is noticed, she is chosen for a task more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. Eva Braun is pregnant with the Führer's child, and Anke is assigned as her midwife.Before long, Anke is faced with an impossible choice. Does she serve the Reich she loathes and keep the baby alive? Or does she sacrifice an innocent child for the good of a broken world?∗Published in the UK as A Woman of War∗Mandy Robotham's highly awaited next book, The Secret Messenger, is out now.

Mandy Robotham

Mandy Robotham has been an aspiring author since the age of nine, but was waylaid by journalism and later enticed by birth. She's now a practising midwife who writes about birth, death, love and everything else in between. She graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University. This is her first novel.

COMMENTS