Daughter of the Reich

'A compelling tale of forbidden love set in 1930's Leipzig' Independent

'Terrifying, yet tender. I loved it' Irish Examiner

'Heart-breaking, thought-provoking story' Adele Parks

'I nearly drowned and Walter rescued me. That changes everything.'

Leipzig, 1930s Germany

Hetty Heinrich is a perfect German child. Her father is an SS officer, her brother in the Luftwaffe, herself a member of the BDM. She believes resolutely in her country, and the man who runs it.

Until Walter changes everything. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, perfect in every way Walter. The boy who saved her life. A Jew.

Anti-semitism is growing by the day, and neighbours, friends and family members are turning on one another. As Hetty falls deeper in love with a man who is against all she has been taught, she begins to fight against her country, her family and herself. Hetty will have to risk everything to save Walter, even if it means sacrificing herself...

Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Book Thief.

Why people love People Like Us:

'People Like Us is also a reminder that – even in the darkest times – the extraordinary power of love can light the way' Fiona Valpy

'A powerful, unforgettable love story' Gill Paul

'A heartbreaking, beautiful story' Jenny Ashcroft

'This is historical fiction at its absolute best' Liz Trenow

'An outstanding and heart-breaking story of Nazism seen from the 'other side': blind indoctrination is transformed into true heroism by the power of love' Sharon Maas, author of The Violin Maker's Daughter

'People Like Us is part romance, part character study, part call to arms' Lizzie Page

'People Like Us is an incredibly moving, utterly captivating, beautiful story of love, courage, and the strength of the human spirit. It was both heartbreaking and hopeful at once. The ending had me in tears' Rhiannon Navin

'A heartbreaking and thought-provoking story about forbidden love during Nazi Germany. Had me gripped to the very end' Luke Allnutt, author of We Own the Sky

'Beautiful and absorbing – a vital story of kindness, and a reminder that humanity can flourish in the darkest of times' Caroline Hulse, author of The Adults

Genre: Historical

"A heartbreaking and thought-provoking story about forbidden love during Nazi Germany. Had me gripped to the very end." - Luke Allnutt

"[People Like Us] spins childhood innocence shattered, the tendency for society to carry us along in wrong directions, and the importance of standing up against tyranny in ways small and large into an absorbing, heart-wrenching story of love and letting go – and a lesson for us all." - Meg Waite Clayton

"Louise Fein's Daughter of the Reich is so real--a beautifully written and emotional wrenching journey into World War II tumult and tragedy." - Karen Harper

"Beautiful and absorbing — a vital story of kindness, and a reminder that humanity can flourish in the darkest of times." - Caroline Hulse

"An outstanding and heart-breaking story of Nazism seen from the 'other side': blind indoctrination is transformed into true heroism by the power of love." - Sharon Maas

"People Like Us is an incredibly moving, utterly captivating, beautiful story of love, courage, and the strength of the human spirit. It was both heartbreaking and hopeful at once. The ending had me in tears." - Rhiannon Navin

"People Like Us is part romance, part character study, part call to arms." - Lizzie Page

"A powerful, unforgettable love story." - Gill Paul

"I adored this book because not only is is beautifully written, it also tells a familiar story from a very unfamiliar perspective: that of a naïve German teenager caught up in the rise of Nazism,and her gradual realisation of the inhumanity driven by Aryan fanaticism. Louise Fein's characters help us understand how so many people were taken in by Nazi propaganda, and the terrible, heartbreaking dilemmas they faced trying to protect the people they loved. This is historical fiction at its absolute best." - Liz Trenow