【Product Information】
‘Beautiful and heartbreaking … I absolutely loved it’ Monica Ali, Sunday Times Bestselling author of Love Marriage
‘The whole, biographically inspired family drama tells of the greatest feelings we have: Love, anger, envy and grief’ Meike Schnitzler, Brigitte
Maria and Josef live with their children in a valley in westernmost Austria. When the First World War breaks out and Josef is drafted into the army, Maria is left to provide for her family alone. Every day is a struggle against starvation, the harsh alpine climate and the hostile nearby villagers who see Maria as little more than a beautiful temptress out for the men left behind. But when a red-haired stranger arrives in the village, Maria feels happiness seep back into her life and she faces a choice whose consequences will affect the lives of her family for generations to come.
Based on the internationally bestselling and award-winning Austrian novelist Monika Helfer’s own family history, Last House Before the Mountain is a propulsive, haunting, multi-layered saga about love, family, and the hidden wages of war.
【Author Information】
Monika Helfer
Monika Helfer is the bestselling author of novels, short stories, and children’s books, including, most recently, Löwenherz (Lionheart), Vati (Daddy), and Die Bagage (Last House Before the Mountain). She lives in Hohenems, Austria.
【Translator Information】
Gillian Davidson
A literary translator based in London. Born and brought up in Scotland, she studied French and German at Edinburgh University, spending a year at Würzburg University in South Germany. After working in Austria for six months, she returned to London to work in the finance office of a German company. She then spent most of her career working as an accountant in the UK public sector. Now retired, she enjoys devoting herself to her love of languages, adding Spanish to her repertoire. She greatly admires Monika Helfer’s work and this novel is her first published work of translation.
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