Secrets of a Suitcase
The Countess, the Nazis, and Middle Europe's Lost Nobility
Pauline Terreehorst author Brent Annable translator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
Published:31st Oct '24
Should be back in stock very soon
When Pauline Terreehorst bid for a vintage Gucci suitcase at Sotheby’s Amsterdam, she had no idea what was inside. After picking up her prize, she found that the case was filled with dresses, fur collars and lace voiles, and accompanied by two brown boxes of postcard albums showing churches and castles in Austria, France, England and Scotland. This curious correspondence was addressed to an Austrian countess, businesswoman and philanthropist called Margarethe Szapáry, and her daughter.
These unexpected family treasures open a window onto a lost world. The Szapárys’ social, cultural and political landscape disappeared in the upheavals that seized Europe during the first half of the twentieth century—a time when borders were redrawn, old cities received new names, communities changed loyalties, and the transnational, monarchist aristocrats of Middle Europe had to decide whether to become Germans under Nazi rule.What did Margarethe choose, when her neighbour Hermann Göring came knocking? What were the consequences for her and her children? And how did her family’s suitcase cross war-torn Europe and survive decades of rupture to end up in Terreehorst’s ha'A vivid picture of aristocratic life in prewar central Europe. . . provides a reminder of the scale of Nazi plunder, not just from Jewish owners but from museums, galleries and art dealerships across occupied Europe. . . Readers interested in the dying days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will find much to enjoy here.'
-- Literary Review'An impressive, multi-faceted historical narrative.'
-- NRC Handelsblad4-star review'A fascinating account of Margarethe Szapary’s life and chronicle of Central Europe.'
-- De Volkskrant 4-star review'Fascinating, accessible, and worth the read.' -- De Standaard 4-star review
'Margarethe emerges from Terreehorst's account as a formidable figure of endurance.'
-- Spear's Magazine'From one suitcase, Terreehorst unpacks the lost world of Central Europe's old aristocracy in all its brittle splendour. Her lens is never still, focussing on individual lives, then panning out to the fall of empires, the rise of Nazism, and the aftermath. Microhistory at its most vivid and instructive.' -- Martyn Rady, author of The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe
‘This is more than the colourful story of one family. It raises fascinating questions about the importance of objects, our relationship to them, and their poignant relationship to memory.’ -- Elizabeth Wilson, author of The Girl in Berlin; War Damage and The Twilight Hour
'A fascinating and important study about the controversial role of aristocracy in the upheavals of Central Europe, from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy to the Third Reich.'
-- Paul Lendvai, author of The Hungarians; Austria Behind the Mask; and Orbán'A compelling biography of an influential family gradually ensnared by the Nazis.'
-- Susan Ronald, author of Hitler's AristocratsISBN: 9781911723394
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
304 pages