613 Results with the "Historical Fiction" genre


    • Someone in the House Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin Marie-Laure senses an intruder entering her home, immediately recognizing the danger from the sequence of closing gates and doors. As a blind girl, she relies on heightened auditory cues and her father's logical reasoning echoing in her mind to deduce that the visitor is not her uncle Etienne but a stranger. The sounds of boots crunching on broken dishes confirm her fears, sending waves of panic through her body. She considers desperate escape routes, including jumping from a window, as the reality of a…
    • Making the Radio Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin In the chapter "Making the Radio," Werner meticulously assembles a makeshift radio amidst the ruins of a war-torn city. Using salvaged materials like wire, a pipe, and a diode, he constructs a tuning coil and antenna, working under the dim light of a fading flashlight. The oppressive atmosphere is underscored by distant mortar explosions and the groaning of the damaged hotel above them. Despite the precarious surroundings, Werner remains focused, methodically completing the circuit with the help of…
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      In the Attic

      In the Attic Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin Marie-Laure hides in the attic after a German soldier searches the wardrobe below, her heart racing as she struggles to remain silent. She recalls a quote about snails slowing their heartbeat under stress and attempts to calm herself, pressing her ear to the false panel but hearing nothing. Despite the danger, exhaustion threatens to overwhelm her as she contemplates how to open the cans in her pockets without making noise. The attic, a cramped and sweltering space with no escape, becomes her precarious…
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      Prisoners

      Prisoners Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Prisoners" opens with Werner, a young recruit, being collected by a gaunt and disheveled corporal named Neumann Two. The corporal's ragged appearance and dismissive attitude set a tone of indifference and decay. Werner, dressed in his new uniform, is subjected to a perfunctory inspection of his belongings, highlighting the impersonal nature of his induction into the Wehrmacht. Their journey begins with a walk to a village, where Neumann Two eats greedily while Werner remains uninformed about…
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      The Wardrobe

      The Wardrobe Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Marie-Laure grieving the loss of Madame Manec, while her uncle Etienne withdraws into his study, consumed by silence and sorrow. The community of women—Madame Blanchard, Fontineau, Guiboux, and Ruelle—offer support through gestures like attending memorial services and bringing food. Marie-Laure grapples with the harsh reality that life continues despite their loss, symbolized by the unchanging rhythms of nature and the indifferent passage of time. Her longing for her absent…
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      Gray

      Gray Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Gray" depicts the bleak winter of December 1943 in Saint-Malo, where fifteen-year-old Marie-Laure endures the harsh cold with scarce resources. The city is enveloped in wood smoke from green, unseasoned firewood, and the chill permeates even indoors, with snowflakes drifting through gaps in the walls. Marie-Laure's daily life is marked by the sounds of her great-uncle Etienne's radio broadcasts, reciting numbers and playing "Clair de Lune," which provide a fleeting sense of comfort amidst the…
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      Fever

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Fever" depicts Werner, a German soldier, grappling with illness and the brutal realities of war during the winter of 1943-1944. Stricken by a debilitating fever and diarrhea, he crouches behind a truck, feeling as though he is losing his last vestiges of humanity. His physical suffering mirrors the moral decay around him, as he declines offers of coffee and painkillers from his comrades. The passage highlights his isolation, underscored by his failure to write to his sister Jutta, whose…
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      The Third Stone

      The Third Stone Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter follows von Rumpel, a determined Nazi officer, as he searches for a legendary blue diamond in a château near Amiens. Believing the stone was hidden there by a museum official during the invasion of France, he meticulously explores the retired paleontologist's home. With the help of a skilled Gestapo safecracker, he uncovers a strongbox containing a velvet box. Inside, he finds what appears to be the prized pear-cut diamond, only to discover it is another expertly crafted fake, leaving him…
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      The Bridge

      The Bridge Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with a tense scene in a French village where a German truck is blown up on a bridge, killing six soldiers. The local women fear brutal reprisals, whispering that the Germans will execute ten civilians for every soldier lost. Authorities force able-bodied men into labor to fortify the Atlantic Wall, while Etienne, armed with a doctor's note, stands frozen in fear at his doorway. The atmosphere is thick with dread as the occupation tightens its grip, and the villagers brace for violence.…
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      White City

      White City Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin In April 1944, Werner and his comrades arrive in a desolate Vienna, a once-grand city now marked by empty windows and decay. The group lodges in a dilapidated suite, surrounded by remnants of opulence overshadowed by war’s ravages. Werner reflects on Dr. Hauptmann, his former mentor, whose idealized Viennese youth contrasts sharply with the grim reality. The city commander ignores them, and their mission to locate resistance broadcasts in Leopoldstadt yields nothing but propaganda and desperate military…
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