Winnie And Wolf

Local Description

2007. A fine, unmarked and unread copy in a fine, unclipped d/w.

Description

"Winnie and Wolf" is the story of the extraordinary relationship between Winifred Wagner and Adolf Hitler that took place during the years 1925-40, as seen through the eyes of the secretary at the Wagner house in Bayreuth. Winifred, an English girl, brought up in an orphanage in East Grinstead, married at the age of eighteen to the son of Germany's most controversial genius, is a passionate Germanophile, a Wagnerian dreamer, a Teutonic patriot. In the debacle of the post-Versailles world, the Wagner family hope for the coming, not of a warrior, a fearless Siegfried, but of a Parsifal, a mystic idealist, a redeemer-figure. In 1925, they meet their Parsifal - a wild-eyed Viennese opera-fanatic in a trilby hat, a mac and a badly fitting suit. Hitler has already made a name for himself in some sections of German society through rabble-rousing and street corner speeches. First published 2007.

Promotion info

'A hypnotic storyteller who leaves in his wake a trail of curiosity and unease' Anita Brookner

Reviews

"A bold, ambitious piece of fiction"--Terry Eagleton, "Guardian" "A subtle and captivating fiction"--"The Times" "An extraordinary work whose achievements are almost Wagnerian in scale"--"Daily Mail" "This novel should carry a warning: its appeal will be greatest for fans either of Wagner and European history, or of politics and philosophy"--"Sunday Times"

Author description

A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he has held a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is an award-winning biographer and a celebrated novelist, winning prizes for much of his work. He lives in North London.