My book translations
Non-fiction
Living in Two Worlds
Living in Two Worlds
Diaries of a Jewish couple in Germany and in Exile
This unique collection of the diaries and letters of Else Behrend and her husband, Siegfried Rosenfeld, offers a vivid personal account of a couple forced to live parallel lives during the Second World War. This publication includes QR codes that allow readers to listen to Else’s own voice in short extracts from her 1963 BBC interviews.
Edited by Professor Marita Krauss and Erich Kasberger
Foreword by Professor Richard Evans
Deborah’s editor was Monica Byles
Pub. Cambridge University Press (2021)
German version ‘Leben in zwei Welten‘ pub. Volk Verlag (2011)
ISBN: 978-1-316-51909-7
At Home in Liguria
At Home in Liguria
First published in German in 1915, the author, Alfons von Mumm, was a German diplomat with a passion for Italy. His wife is said to have saved Portofino from Nazi bombing by hurrying outside in her dressing gown to plead with the commanding officer to consider the unique beauty of the town instead of taking action against it.
Full of local history and colour, this enchanting publication is also rich in folk tales and anecdotes, with a lovely range of authentic photographs.
Pub. Internὸs Edizioni, Rapallo, Italy (2018)
ISBN: 978-8-895-952-956
Kashmir Ladakh Baltistan 1911/12
Kashmir Ladakh Baltistan 1911/12
This engaging study of Otto Honigmann’s journeys through Ladakh, Kashmir and Baltistan follows his original route through places visited by only the most adventurous. Travelling on foot through snowy mountain passes, his cumbersome yet precious camera equipment carried by pack animals, he goes into places no longer accessible from India. His atmospheric photographs intrigue the modern reader while his writing shows his passion for the settlements and scenery.
Researched and written by Dr Michaela Appel
With photographs and original text by Otto Honigmann
Pub. Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich (2018)
ISBN: 978-3-927270-78-7
…a Land of Mystery and Secrets
‘…a Land of Mystery and Secrets’
The discovery of the letters and photographs of Amalie and Sebastian Schmitt is the result of a series of charming coincidences. The writing and images provide a record of the daily life of a missionary family in the Himalayas as they experience delight in their work but pain and suffering when it comes to trying to raise a family and maintain their own wellbeing.
Read both of these unusual books to uncover the link between the two.
Amalie and Sebastian Schmitt’s Letters and Photographs from Ladakh 1907-1913
Researched and edited by Dr Michaela Appel
Pub. Museum Fünf Kontinente, Munich (2022)
ISBN: 978-3-927270-82-4
Fiction
The Girl with the Golden Scissors
The Girl with the Golden Scissors
This historical romance is set in the period 1889 to 1919 in Vienna and Budapest. First published in German by best-selling author, Julia Drosten, this is the story of an ambitious and determined young woman who fights her way up from nowhere to find success and, at last, her own identity.
Pub. Crossing (2020)
First published in German by Amazon Crossing 2018 as ‘Das Mädchen mit der goldenen Schere‘
ISBN: 978-1542007825
The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter
The Elephant Keeper’s Daughter
Set in nineteenth century Ceylon against a backdrop of British colonisation, this charming book tells us the beguiling story of Phera, born a girl but raised a boy in the royal city of Kandy. She finds herself trapped between the expectations of her family, her father being the king’s elephant keeper, and her desire to live on her own terms.
Pub. Crossing (2018)
First published in German by Julia and Horst Drosten (2016)
ISBN: 978-1542048552
Fact-based fiction
Stalingrad -The Loneliest Death
Stalingrad -The Loneliest Death (e-book)
Pub. Primero Verlag (2015)
Stalingrad: Die Einsamkeit vor dem Sterben (pub. Primero 2013) in hardcover
A special one for me as it was my first ever book translation. First published in German by the author and screenwriter, Christoph Fromm, this is a fictionalised account of the Battle of Stalingrad and follows the experience of five German soldiers.
ISBN: 978-3-9810943-8-1
A Fight in Silence
A Fight in Silence
Pub. Lake Union (2019)
An historical novel rooted in true stories and events that occurred between 1925 and 1950. We meet Richard and Paula in Hamburg in 1926, where they fall in love, marry and are soon blessed with twins. Richard qualifies as a psychiatrist and life ahead looks bright. But happiness turns to horror when the Nazis seize power and begin forcing doctors to euthanise anyone the regime deems imperfect. One of Richard and Paula’s twins was born deaf and could become a target for the evil regime…
First published in German by Tinte & Feder as ‘Im Lautlosen’.
Researched and written by Melanie Metzenthin, psychiatrist and native of Hamburg, where it all happened.
ISBN: 978-1542093682