Thomas Harding – författare

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2015LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2016A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book.' Tom Holland'Personal and panoramic, heart-wrenching yet uplifting, this is history at its most alive.' A.D. Miller'A passionate memoir.' Neil MacGregor_______________________________________In 2013, Thomas Harding returned to his grandmother's house on the outskirts of Berlin which she had been forced to leave when the Nazis swept to power. What was once her 'soul place' now stood empty and derelict. A concrete footpath cut through the garden, marking where the Berlin Wall had stood for nearly three decades.In a bid to save the house from demolition, Thomas began to unearth the history of the five families who had lived there: a nobleman farmer, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, a widow and her children and a Stasi informant. Discovering stories of domestic joy and contentment, of terrible grief and tragedy, and of a hatred handed down through the generations, a history of twentieth century Germany and the story of a nation emerged.

'I was riveted: this is a fascinating social history.' NIGELLA LAWSON'Five stars... history on a scale at once intimate and grand.' TELEGRAPHA panoramic new history of modern Britain, as told through the story of one extraordinary family, and one groundbreaking company.This is the story of how a family transformed themselves from penniless immigrants to build a company that revolutionised the way we eat, drink and are entertained. For over a century, Lyons was everywhere. Its restaurants and corner houses were on every high street, its coffee and tea in every cup, its products in every home. But it was a victory that was not easily won.Told through the lives of five generations, Legacy is at once intimate and sweeping, charting the tragedy and unimaginable success of one of Britain's most famous families. It is also an illuminating new exploration of Britain and its place in the world, from the bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf and The House by the Lake.'A magnificent book... endlessly fascinating.' JEWISH CHRONICLE'How the Lyons company took on the world... a satisfying slab of dynastic history.' GUARDIAN, 'Book of the Day''Written with love and imagination... a masterclass in historical empathy.' TLS'An affectionate and colourful family history.' FINANCIAL TIMES'Rich... Fascinating... Harding is to be congratulated on this panoramic history.' EVENING STANDARD'Endlessly fascinating and hard to put down... this is a tour de force.' JULIA NEUBERGER

***WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION***'Meticulous and gripping - a thriller that disturbs for revelations about a singular act of murder, and the national security state which we call home' Philippe Sands, author of East West StreetA groundbreaking examination of a terrifying murder and its aftermath by the bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf and The House by the Lake.On 14 June 2006, police were called to 9 Downshire Hill in Hampstead. The owner, Allan Chappelow, was a writer and notorious recluse who had not been seen for several weeks. Inside the darkened house, officers found piles of rubbish, trees growing through the floor, and the body of Chappelow, battered to death, partially burned and buried under four feet of paper.The man eventually arrested on suspicion of his murder was a Chinese dissident named Wang Yam, who claimed to be the grandson of one of Mao’s closest aides. His trial was the first in modern British history to be held ‘in camera’: closed, carefully controlled, secret. Wang Yam was found guilty, but has always protested his innocence. Did Wang Yam do it? Or was he framed for a crime he didn't commit?When everything is hidden, how do we know what's really true?www.bloodonthepage.com_________________'An In Cold Blood for our time – a brilliant and unflinching anatomy of a murder that is both brutal true crime and heartbreaking human tragedy' Tony Parsons'A fine and fascinating read, bolstered by exemplary research and nuanced insights.' Observer‘A real-life procedural... which might have important implications for us all.’ Guardian'Reads like a thriller... a rigorous investigation... a revealing piece of social history.' Sunday Times'Detailed, painstaking and fascinating.' Evening Standard

_____________________________________THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE JQ WINGATE PRIZE 2015SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD'A gripping thriller, an unspeakable crime, an essential history.' JOHN LE CARRÉ_____________________________________Hanns Alexander was the son of a prosperous German family who fled Berlin for London in the 1930s, becoming an investigator of war crimes. Rudolf Höss was a farmer and soldier who became the Kommandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp and oversaw the deaths of over a million men, women and children.The hunt was on.In the aftermath of the Second World War, the first British War Crimes Investigation Team is assembled to hunt down the senior Nazi officials responsible for the greatest atrocities the world has ever seen. Lieutenant Hanns Alexander is one of the lead investigators, Rudolf Höss his most elusive target.In this book Thomas Harding reveals for the very first time the full account of Höss’ capture. Moving from the Middle-Eastern campaigns of the First World War to bohemian Berlin in the 1920s, to the horror of the concentration camps and the trials in Belsen and Nuremberg, Hanns and Rudolf tells the story of two German men whose lives diverged, and intersected, in an astonishing way.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf - a gripping true story of unsolved murder, war, and injustice in Nazi-occupied Florence'I absolutely devoured The Einstein Vendetta... Remarkable. Totally compelling' Edmund de Waal'Can't express how moved I am. An absolute triumph. So much more than a mere book' Allan Little'Thomas Harding is a researcher of the first rank' Daily Express'Harding evokes time and place beautifully, while paying forensic attention to detail. The result is a slow burn of cliff-hangers to keep the pages turning’ Spectator'The Einstein Vendetta will tug at your heartstrings and prompt righteous outrage. Harding captures beautifully the general atmosphere of wartime Tuscany' Telegraph'Did the Führer personally order the hit? Doggedly pursuing his own investigation, Mr Harding interviews surviving witnesses and Einstein family members' Economist__Italy, Summer 1944A unit of German soldiers arrives at a villa near Florence. Villa Il Focardo is home to Robert Einstein, cousin to the most famous scientist in the world, Albert Einstein – a prominent enemy of the Nazi regime. Having renounced his German citizenship a decade earlier, Albert’s safely in America, well beyond Hitler’s reach.The same is not true for his cousin.Twelve hours after arriving, the soldiers have vanished – and a family is dead. This crime – and what happened next – still haunts those who survived.Who ordered it? Who was involved?And why did they get away with it?This is the untold story of the Einstein vendetta.__________Praise for Thomas Harding:Hanns and Rudolf'A gripping thriller, an unspeakable crime, an essential history' John le Carré'Thomas Harding has shed intriguing new light on the strange poison of Nazism, and one of its most lethal practitioners... Meticulously researched and deeply felt' Ben Macintyre, Times Book of the Week'Fascinating and moving...This is a remarkable book, which deserves a wide readership' Max Hastings, Sunday TimesThe House by the Lake'The narrative drive of a great novelist and the meticulous research of a great historian' The Herald'A passionate memoir about Germany' Neil MacGregor, author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany: Memories of a Nation'I loved this book. I admire the elegance of it, the hope, the honesty and the generousness with which every resident is given his or her place. It has made me think about our individual parts in the bigger story, and the coming and going-ness of things. It is a book that will stay with me for a very long time' Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book' Tom Holland, author of Rubicon

Pictures from Abu Ghraib showed the power of the amateur image to grab the world's attention. The Asian tsunami, caught on camcorder, brought home the reality of what had happened more than any news report ever could. Around the world the increasing availability and affordability of technology has fuelled the world of social justice video activism. Film-making - at its best - has the power to change the way people think, and create real social change, and now the tools to do it are more accessible than ever before. This book shows how activists and human rights campaigners can harness the power of images and stories for their own purposes - it's a step-by-step guide to the handicam revolution.Written by leading video activists, and staff of the world-renowned human rights organization WITNESS, this practical handbook will appeal to experienced campaigners as well as aspiring video activists. It combines a comprehensive analysis of what's going on in this growing global field with a how-to primer to doing it yourself.

*Longlisted for the CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction 2026*From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf and The House by the Lake comes a gripping true story of murder, war and injustice in Nazi-occupied Florence'I absolutely devoured The Einstein Vendetta' EDMUND DE WAAL'Thomas Harding is a researcher of the first rank' DAILY EXPRESS'Harding evokes time and place beautifully, while paying forensic attention to detail. The result is a slow burn of cliff-hangers to keep the pages turning’ SPECTATOR'The Einstein Vendetta will tug at your heartstrings and prompt righteous outrage' TELEGRAPH------TUSCANY, 1944. German soldiers arrive at a villa on the outskirts of Florence to interrogate the cousin of the world's most famous scientist. Hours later, innocent civilians are dead and the troops have vanished.Weaving together first-hand testimony, unpublished material and original interviews, Thomas Harding tells a dramatic story of vengeance - and of one family's personal torment - as Nazi forces made a last brutal stand ahead of impending Allied liberation.

"The incredible story of how a house was witness to German history" Telegraph"A touching picturebook which shows children that large events can have repercussions even in small and unheralded places" Wall Street JournalA beautiful picture-book adaptation of Thomas Harding's Costa-shortlisted biography for adults, exquisitely illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.On the outskirts of Berlin, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone's throw from the cottage's back door. Thomas Harding first shared this remarkable story in his Costa-shortlisted biography The House by the Lake – now he has rendered it into a deeply moving picture-book for young readers. With words that read like a haunting fairy-tale, and magnificent artwork by Britta Teckentrup, this is the astonishing true story of the house by the lake."An atmospheric and ultimately uplifting tale with delicate, ethereal images" The Financial TimesPRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE: A Radio 4 Book of the WeekNamed a Best Book of the Year by: The Times >> New Statesman >> Daily Express >> Commonweal magazineShortlisted for the Costa Biography Award 2015Longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2016Over 50 five-star reviews on Amazon"A passionate memoir." – Neil MacGregor"A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book." – Tom Holland"A book that will stay with me for a very long time." – Rachel Joyce"A superb work of social history." – The Sunday Times "Diamond brilliant ... an extraordinary book." – Sunday Express"A deft history of a cabin containing many secrets." – Independent"A fascinating window on a tumultuous period" – Financial Times"Original, personal, moving and uplifting" – Literary Review"This is a history that is often poignant, sometimes heartening, and never other than intimate." – Spectator"An extraordinary book…. Harding has extracted the past from the dust that collects between floorboards and from layers of peeling wallpaper.” – Washington PostSEE ALSO THOMAS HARDING'S NEW BIOGRAPHY, LEGACY:"I was riveted: this is a fascinating social history." – Nigella Lawson"Written with love and imagination ... a masterclass in historical empathy." – TLS"Nobody quite stirs the soup of historical detail like Harding." – Express

The story of the slave uprising that took place in the British colony of Demerara - now Guyana - in the Caribbean in 1823, and its momentous consequences

When Thomas Harding discovered that his family had profited from slavery, he set out to interrogate the choices of his ancestors and Britain's role in this terrible history. His investigation took him to Demerara (now Guyana), the site of an uprising by enslaved people in 1823, the largest in the British Empire and a key trigger in the abolition of slavery. Charting the dramatic build-up to this landmark event through the eyes of four people - an enslaved man, a missionary, a colonist, and a slaveholder - Harding lays bare the true impact of years of unimaginable cruelty and incredible courage and asks how those who benefitted from slavery can take responsibility for the White Debt.

The captivating story of the famed publisher who transformed not only publishing but the culture of ideas, from his struggles as an Austrian-Jewish refugee in London to his rise as a world-renowned literary figure

After arriving in London just before the Second World War as a penniless and friendless Austrian-Jewish refugee, George Weidenfeld went on to transform not only the world of publishing but the culture of ideas. The books that he published include momentous titles such as Lolita, Double Helix, The Group and The Hedgehog and the Fox, with authors he championed ranging from Joan Didion, Mary McCarthy and Edna O'Brien to Henry Miller, Harold Wilson, Saul Bellow and Henry Kissinger.In this first biography, Thomas Harding provides a full, unvarnished and at times difficult history of this complex and fascinating character and crafts a portrait of the publisher's life that is inextricable from the efforts and intricacies of putting a book into the world. Structured around twenty books associated with George Weidenfeld, and intercut with explorations of contemporary concerns such as the right to publish, freedom of speech and separating the art from the artist, The Maverick tells the captivating story behind the life of this iconic publisher.

Charting 400 years of history, this is the astonishing true story of the Anne Frank House, beautifully illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.In the middle of Amsterdam, stands a tall, narrow house on a canal. Over the course of four centuries the house has been a home to many – from poor families to wealthy couples, and those hiding from persecution. Like the family of a young Jewish girl who sought refuge in the annexe and wrote in her diary of the “old house on the canal”. The girl’s name was Anne Frank, and her diary became world famous.

Charting 400 years of European history, this is the astonishing true story of the Anne Frank House, beautifully illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.In the middle of Amsterdam stands a tall, narrow house on a canal. Over the course of four centuries the house has been a home to many – from poor families to wealthy couples, and those hiding from persecution. Like the family of a young Jewish girl who sought refuge in the annexe and wrote in her diary of the “old house on the canal”. The girl’s name was Anne Frank, and her diary became world famous.