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Published Jan 2023
440 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
From the best-selling author of Star of the Sea, a WWII-era "great escape" novel set in the Vatican
September 1943: German forces occupy Rome. Gestapo boss Obersturmbannführer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. Hunger is widespread. Rumors fester. The war's outcome is far from certain.
Diplomats, refugees, and escaped Allied prisoners flee for protection into Vatican City, at one fifth of a square mile the world's smallest state, a neutral, independent country within Rome. A small band of unlikely friends led by a courageous Irish priest is drawn into deadly danger as they seek to help those seeking refuge.
Book 1 in the Rome Escape Line Trilogy, My Father's House is a powerful, heartbreaking literary thriller based on the true story of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who risked his life to smuggle thousands of Jews and escaped Allied prisoners out of Italy under the nose of his Nazi nemesis. A deadly high-stakes battle of wits ensues in this astonishing, unforgettable story of love, faith and sacrifice, exploring what it means to be truly human in the most extreme circumstances.
"Riveting... A storytelling tour de force. This is top-drawer WWII fiction." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"If the story were told in typical thriller style, emphasizing action over language, it would still be good, but O'Connor's phrasings are a special joy... A deeply emotional read." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This information about My Father's House was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joseph O'Connor's Shadowplay was named Novel of the Year at the 2019 Irish Book Awards and was a finalist for the prestigious Costa Book Award. His novel Star of the Sea was published in thirty-eight languages and won France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Nielsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year. He is the author of nine novels and is the Inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.
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