My Dearest Dietrich
A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Lost Love
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A staggering love illuminating the dark corners of a Nazi prison
Renowned German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is famous for his resistance to the Nazi regime and for his allegiance to God over government. But what few realize is that the last years of his life also held a love story that rivals any romance novel.
Maria von Wedemeyer knows the realities of war. Her beloved father and brother have both been killed on the battlefield. The last thing this spirited young woman needs is to fall for a man under constant surveillance by the Gestapo. How can she give another piece of her heart to a man so likely to share the same final fate? Yet when Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an old family friend, comes to comfort the von Wedemeyers after their losses, she discovers that love isn't always logical.
Dietrich himself has determined to keep his distance from romantic attachments. There is too much work to be done for God, and his involvement in the conspiracy is far too important. But when he encounters a woman whose intelligence and conviction match his own, he's unprepared for how easy it is to give away his heart.
With their deep love comes risk--and neither Dietrich nor Maria is prepared for just how great that risk soon becomes.
Based on detailed historical research, this true love story is at once beautiful and heartrending. My Dearest Dietrich sheds new light on a world-famous theologian . . . and the woman who changed his life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Barratt (My Heart Belongs in Niagara Falls, New York) humanizes eminent German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer in this gripping historical romance that needs little fictional embellishment to be both dramatic and tragic. Told through letters between the Nazi-era pastor and his young fianc e, Maria von Wedemeyer, the story depicts a complex relationship that develops as Bonhoeffer becomes involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. Half Bonhoeffer's age, von Wedemeyer is introduced to the theologian at the home of her grandmother, an occurrence that immediately energizes his normally pious, clandestine existence. Their relationship unfolds in spite of the obstacles placed by von Wedemeyer's concerned mother, who suspects Bonhoeffer's involvement in the resistance. Bonhoeffer's eventual imprisonment adds texture to the narrative, as the language of his letters moves from loving to strained. The prose is occasionally florid ("a Berlin writhing under the jackboots of the Third Reich"), and the inclusion of a fictional villain, more unctuous than convincing, is unnecessary, given the real menaces of the period. Despite this, Barratt's moving romance will appeal to readers of Bonhoeffer as well as fans of WWII espionage thrillers.
