The Mystery of an Antique German Doll reunites members of a family torn apart during The Third Reich of Nazi Germany.
This family saga, starting in the leafy suburb of Beckenham on the borders of Kent and London, begins in 1930 in the comfortable world of four British upper-middle class families blind to the impending changes that are about to threaten not only their world, but everyone else’s world, too.
A doll belonging to the Abuthnott family becomes the catalyst that brings about two sides of the Rubenstein family, who were able to escape from Germany in the late 1930s finding refuge in the United States of America and in the British Mandate of Palestine.
Along the way, the horrors of the Blitz and the British struggle for survival are enacted out against the parallel Germanic horror of holocaust separation. The survivors in the United States, Great Britain and Israel adapt to a new world as it unfolds through the second half of the 20th century, until by the chance sale of a German Biedermeier doll at Sotheby’s in New York, their separate paths are brought together in 2017.
The four Beckenham families adapt to their changing lifestyles witnessing a rich tapestry of 20th century history taking the reader all over the world with its beauty, passion and prejudices.
In this sweeping family saga, the lives of five Bavarian German families unfold against the backdrop of the twentieth century, spanning from 1937 to 2020. At the heart of the story are Herman Finkelstein, a Jewish professor, and his wife Merla Finkelstein, whose tragic fate during the Holocaust sets the stage for the generations that follow. Their descendants, adopted by Lutheran families after escaping to Switzerland in 1943, have only a vague understanding of their Jewish heritage.
The narrative is centered around the Bavarian towns of Berchtesgaden and Oberstdorf, but also ventures to Switzerland and Israel as Germany grapples with its complex past and the specter of antisemitism. Both branches of the Finkelstein descendants find themselves connected through their herds of Hinterwalder cattle, a bond that ultimately brings them together after two generations of separation.
Through the purchase of a Hinterwalder bull, the families are reunited and uncover the full extent of their Jewish ancestry. While the novel explores the profound impact of the Holocaust, it also serves as a rich social history, illustrating how the ordinary lives of individuals are shaped by war, political upheaval, and cultural shifts.
Flavius Septimus, the commander of the Sepphoris garrison in Galilee, harbors a dark secret that casts a shadow over the lives of his son, Linus Flavian, and Maria of Magdala. In these novels, Linus, Maria, and Joshua, the Biblical Jesus, are born under a mysterious star in a world steeped in superstition and intrigue. As the Jewish Temple hierarchy, the Herodian dynasty, and the Romans vie for power in tumultuous first-century Judea, their adolescent lives unfold, intertwined with personal destinies shaped by the beliefs surrounding their births under that enigmatic star.
“In providing historical, economic, and religious details, Peter Longley builds a bridge between spiritual divinity and traditional Christianity. Finally, it’s a relief to find a theologian that makes sense of the Bible and its many translations!”
– Jeanette Parker, USA
“Longley blends a fantastic mixture of historical and fictional figures and events to narrate the early lives of Joshua, (also known as Jesus of Nazareth,) Maria, (also known as Mary Magdalene,) and Linus Flavius, (the fictitious son of a high-ranking Roman official.) Using simple, effective prose, Longley tells an engaging tale that offers plausible explanations of those well-known stories of the miraculous, such as the virgin birth and the turning of water into wine. Longley tells an intriguing story in a setting that is both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.”
– Sacramento and San Francisco Book Reviews, USA
“Longley’s feeling for the Roman and Jewish point of view is superb.”
– Dorothy Thompson, Scotland
“I very much enjoy your interpretation of the life of Jesus and feel it is much more logical than the accepted version. I have always had a fascination with Mary Magdalene and her life as well. I found this book to be very interesting. Nothing I have read on Mary Magdalene has had the same sort of story line including that of her mother.”
– Cheryl Huffman, USA
The coronation plate shown in this photograph is from the coronation that never happened, that of King Edward VIII. He abdicated the British throne before he was to be crowned and on the day that woul ........
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