Fever at Dawn

‘How many have replied?’

‘Almost twenty.’

‘Are you going to write back to all of them?’

‘She’s the one,’ Miklós answered, prodding the pocket where he had hidden the letter.

‘How do you know?’

‘I just do.’


In July 1945, Miklós, a Hungarian survivor of Belsen, arrives in a refugee camp in Sweden. He is skin and bone, and has no teeth. The doctor says he has only months to live.


But Miklós has other plans. He acquires a list of 117 young Hungarian women who are also in refugee camps in Sweden, and he writes a letter to each of them—obsessively, in his beautiful hand, sitting in the shade of a tree in the hospital garden. One of those young women, he is sure, will become his wife.


In a camp hundreds of kilometres away, Lili reads his letter. Idly, she decides to write back.


Letter by letter, the pair fall in love. In December 1945 they find a way to meet. They have only three days together, and they fall in love all over again. Now they have to work out how to get married while there is still time…


This story really happened.


Fever at Dawn is a love story for the ages. Based on the letters of the author’s parents, it’s a sad and joyous tale that will stay with you long after its happy ending.


Péter Gárdos was born in Budapest in 1948. He is a multiple-award-winning film and theatre director. As a director he has received more than twenty international awards at major film festivals, among them the Jury’s Special Award at the Montreal Film Festival and the Golden Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival.

Based on the true story of his parents, Fever at Dawn is his first novel.


‘Fever at Dawn belongs to the canon of extraordinary true stories about love and war and the power of letters. Dramatic, compassionate and deeply moving, this unforgettable story reminds us that the Holocaust is not only history it’s a warning.’ Jennifer Clement


‘A magnificent novel, tonally flawless, its humour defiant in the face of vast tragedy.’ Joan London


‘Fever at Dawn is a riveting and high-spirited journey from the brink of death toward life, a novel that asserts the power of love in a world newly devastated by unspeakable hate. With courage, humor, and unfailing emotional honesty, Péter Gárdos illuminates the incredible power of the human will—the drive not just to stay alive, but to fight for a life worth celebrating.’ Julie Orringer, bestselling author of The Invisible Bridge



‘The impossibly moving story of two damaged youths who forge from their amour fou a love that will light the decades ahead. With playfulness and charm, with iron conviction, Fever at Dawn will convince you that it’s possible not only to survive the worst of human hell, but to transcend it.’ Francisco Goldman, author of Say Her Name


‘Books don’t make me cry. Fever At Dawn did. Drawing you in with pathos and playful wit, it squeezes the heart with sorrow and leaves it expanded with joy and love.’ Gabor Maté M. D. , author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts


‘Touching…Péter Gárdos celebrates the power of love to overcome adversity.’ Who Weekly



‘A touching account of a strange courtship…Fever at Dawn is constructed around highly visual scenes and sharply but simply drawn minor characters.’ Age/Sydney Morning Herald


‘Whimsical, poignant and completing charming. It will make you like life more when you’ve finished.’ UK Bookseller


‘It has the sweetness of The Rosie Project and the pathos of The Fault in Our Stars. Better still, it is based on a true story…A book to fall in love with.’ Herald Sun


‘A vital, enjoyable read…There is a timeless quality to Fever at Dawn, a kind of classical romanticism.’ Australian



‘This heart-warming tale, flawlessly translated from the original Hungarian by Elizabeth Szasz, is an uplifting and entertaining read: there is love, there is jealousy and betrayal and there is plenty of humour.’ Bookmooch


‘A triumph of the human spirit over adversity that is very satisfying reading…Amusing and uplifting.’ ANZ LitLovers


‘The strength of this work is not just the compelling story it tells but that it is founded in real-life events. Ultimately, it’s an inspiring story about how hope and love can fortify one’s resolve even when the struggle for survival is acute.’ Readings



‘Deeply moving and inspiring…A story of the power of love and poetry at a time and place of enormous deprivation and horror.’ Otago Daily Times