"A propulsive recounting of a powerful love." —Publisher's Weekly starred review
"Strauss' research into and reimagining of their four years together amount to an essential rediscovery of this history. Her work is as alert to the tenderness of their connection as to the immense evil of their surroundings. Queer history and Holocaust history converge in this remarkable account." —Kirkus Review
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Launching August 19, 2025
From the moment they met in 1940 in Ravensbrück concentration camp, Milena Jesenska and Margarete Buber-Neumann were inseparable. Czech Milena was Kafka's first translator and epistolary lover, and a journalist opposed to fascism. A non-conformist, bi-sexual feminist, she was way ahead of her time. With the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, her home became a central meeting place for Jewish refugees. German Margarete, born to a middle-class family, married the son of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber. But soon swept up in the fervor of the Bolshevik Revolution, she met her second partner, the Communist Heinz Neumann. Called to Moscow for his "political deviations," he fell victim to Stalin's purges while Margarete was exiled to the hell of the Soviet gulag. Two years later, traded by Stalin to Hitler, she ended up outside Berlin in Ravensbrück, the only concentration camp built for women.
Milena and Margarete loved each other at the risk of their lives. But in the post-war survivors' accounts, lesbians were stigmatized, and survivors kept silent. This book explores those silences, and finally celebrates two strong women who never gave up and continue to inspire. As Margaret wrote: "I was thankful for having been sent to Ravensbrück, because it was there I met Milena."
The Nine
Juliet Stevenson has done a simply amazing job reading The Nine. The audible version comes with bonus content, including an interview with me and the UK editor and the incredibly moving sound of Martine, Hélène's daughter singing the Chant des Marais at her mother's funeral.
Here's the review in The Times of London naming it audiobook of the week.
The Hiding Game
The Hiding Game, released in February 2017.
We received A Parent's Choice Award.
"The Hiding Game... is riveting, the truth undeniable, the heroes all but forgotten. A picture book not to be missed."
--Jane Yolen, author of The Devil's Arithmetic
"Gripping and intense"
--Kirkus
Ruth and the Green Book
- ALA 2011 Most Notable Middle Grade Reader
- Named one of ten books "All Young Georgians Should Read" by Georgia Center for the Book
- ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award
- Skipping Stones Book Award
- Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children
- Independent Publisher Book Award
- Whitney and Scott Cordozo Award for Children's Literature
- Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
- Honor book for the Jane Adam's Peace Prize
- Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
- Jefferson Cup Award finalist