This is the first novel, I believe, from the journalist and biographer, and Suffolk resident, Wendy Holden. 

I've greatly enjoyed interviewing Wendy in the past on stage and in print, and her books I've always found to be gripping and moving. This time she has turned to fiction to tell the story of a man who was a teacher at Auschwitz.

Fredy Hirsch was a gay Jewish man who was born in Germany in 1916. His early years weren't trouble free but he worked hard towards his ambitions in sport and coaching. 

When the Nazis came to power, he fled to Czechoslovakia, but this didn't prove to be a refuge and he was sent to the labour camp Theresienstadt and then on to Auschwitz.

Because of his early work teaching children, he continued to look after youngsters in the camps. He ensured they had an education and time to play and also maintained standards of hygiene, respect and courtesy. He also encouraged them to have hope for the future.

His story is true. There are many witnesses to his short life and work and Wendy discovered him when she was researching other books she has written about survivors of the Holocaust. She intended writing about him as she has done with other subjects, as a non-fiction account but found that there were gaps in his story. So she decided to write about him in a novel. 

This is a fascinating and sobering account. As always, it's extraordinary what ordinary people faced and overcame in these horrific circumstances.

The journalist in me would have preferred to have read a biographical account of Fredy's life rather than a merging of fact and fiction but Wendy writes beautifully and sensitively, and undoubtedly this book will reach a wide audience with this important message. It introduces us to a remarkable young man who battled his own personal challenges, putting aside his own hopes and fears to help others.