Hobbies / Books   (Gardening, walking, books, films, theatre etc.)

A few weeks ago I watched an excellent ITVX drama series "PLATFORM 7" adapted from a novel by Louise Doughty. I wondered what other novels she has written and found ." FIRES in the DARK"
It begins in 1927 with the birth in rural Bohemia, of a son Emil, to Joseph, leader of a company of Coppersmith Gypsies and his wife Anna. Emil grows up during the Great Depression and the rise of the Nazis.
As the Nazis increasingly restrict and control Romany life,his family try to escape but are captured and sent to an internment camp. Emil escapes and the book tells his story until the Prague uprising in 1945.
The book isn't all about the Nazis and the Holocaust. The depictions of Romany life and it's culture and traditions during the peaceful inter-war years make fascinating reading.
"FIRES in the DARK" is an engrossing if at times harrowing read, meticulously researched, informative and unsentimental. It is estimated that about 500,000 Roma were killed in the Holocaust - we sometimes forget that they suffered too.
Doughty herself has Romany ancestry. Her great,great Grandfather was born to a Romany family who had emigrated to the U.K. in the mid 1800's.
She says" The Nazis only required a person to have 1/8 Romany blood to persecute them, so technically I would have qualified"

The book is now out of print but I found a used copy on the website
www.abebooks.co.uk which I often use to buy both new and used books at very reasonable prices. FIRES in the DARK cost £3.34 inclusive of postage.
Whatever your choice of book, happy reading,
Holly