‘The Dressmaker and the Hidden Soldier’ by Doug Gold
Mistrust is high in Nazi-occupied Greece in 1941. Information and betrayal can easily be purchased for as little as a loaf of bread and it takes sharp wit and instinct to exist under pressure.
Tasoula Paschilidou and her eighteen-year-old son Thanasis run a professional dressmaking salon from her home in Thessaloniki – but this is a front for her expert leadership within the Greek national Liberation Front AKA The Resistance. From hiding allied force soldiers that have escaped from Nazi transit camps to aiding and abetting their escape routes, Tasoula is ever watchful, assessing the risks and doing all she can to lessen the deathly grip the Nazis have on her homeland. How long can she remain undetected?
Peter Blunden is a New Zealand soldier who dares to escape from the Prisoner-Of War transit camp by jumping from a moving train. He is fortunate to have the friendship of the more experienced, skilled escapee Patrick Minogue as they navigate their way through the German-soldier riddled villages. Patrick must return to ‘Mrs Tasoulas’ shelter to warn of betrayals. Can they enact a trustworthy plan to escape
Within the safe house that Tasoula provides Peter first casts his eyes on the beautiful young dressmaking apprentice, Thalia and their love sets its course.
Based on a true-story, Thalia and Peter play a dangerous game under the dominance and oppression from German occupation within Thessaloniki in World War Two. Heartrates are heightened as it becomes increasingly risky to stay within the safe house provided. Tension and suspense put you ill at ease as you wish for a hopeful outcome.
Wellington based Doug Gold is the author of the non-fiction World War Two story The Note Through The Wire and The Dressmaker And The Hidden Soldier is his first fictionalized account of a true love story. With his meticulous research of the Greek prisons and Austrian concentration camps during World War Two, he brings together the remarkable ability of the human spirit to overcome and survive in the face of devastating war time cruelties. This is a genuine comparison for those that read Heather Morris and her Tattooist Of Auschwitz series.
Available in store, online and as an audiobook that supports local bookshops from LibroFM.
ISBN 9781991006226
