Fables & Lies:
A World War II Novel Based on a True Story
by Elisabeth Storrs
Publisher: The Book Guild
Audiobook: Bolinda Audio
Pages: 584
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 584
Genre: Historical Fiction
Audiobook Narrator: Lucy Tregear
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Under a brutal regime, what price must be paid to preserve truth, treasure and love in a world built on lies?
WWII Berlin. Freyja Bremer, a patriotic museum assistant, marries Kaspar Voigt, an ambitious SS scholar, to protect her father. Yet she is unaware her husband is instrumental in Himmler’s twisted quest for Aryan supremacy.
As she strives to safeguard the priceless Priam’s Treasure from air raids, Freyja falls in love with Darien Lessing, an archaeologist who exposes the moral decay beneath the Regime’s myths. Her awakening drives her into perilous resistance — aiding a Jewish doctor and his wife, Darien’s sister — while uncovering Kaspar’s role in the SS’s darkest programs, which subvert history to justify invasion, abduction and murder.
As Berlin collapses into chaos and bloodshed, Freyja, caught between duty, deception and desire, must risk everything to preserve truth in a world built on lies.
A heartbreaking yet triumphant love story, Fables & Lies shines light on lesser-known aspects of the Nazi Regime. It gives voice to the complex moral struggles of German women, the forgotten resistance of Gentiles married to Jews, the dangers of contested history, the evils of Himmler’s racial studies program and the unsung bravery of German museum curators who saved their nation’s treasures.
Perfect for readers of Kelly Rimmer, Anthony Doer and Laura Morelli.
Excerpt
Berlin, Monday, 28 August 1939
Arriving early, Freyja enjoyed the museum’s quiet, knowing the day ahead would be hectic. She climbed the stairs to the atrium’s first floor then strolled through the three exhibition salons of the Schliemann Collection. The sun shining through the tall windows formed rectangles of light on the parquetry. A faint scent of wax polish hung in the air.
The galleries were filled with ancient Trojan riches. She passed cabinets displaying anthropomorphic vessels, pottery, weapons, loom whorls and crystal buttons. She paused in front of four ceremonial axes, admiring the patterns on the green jade. Then she gravitated back to the main salon. It housed the Great Treasure of Priam.
She studied the trove within the glass display case. A copper cauldron and battered pan were the largest items. There were also a heavy silver vase and plate, gold cups, goblets, dishes and vases. The metal of some was corroded and black, the others lustrous. Added to the hoard were numerous silver talents, bronze axe blades and daggers, a few with ancient dirt still clinging to them.
Her gaze rested on the exquisite “Jewels of Helen”. The gold was not brightly burnished but retained its ancient patina. Four thousand years old. A Trojan noblewoman from the distant past once wore it. Freyja found the jewellery’s condition breathtaking after surviving millennia.
She often fantasised slipping on the arm-rings, donning the thin fillet headband and the neck torque, and threading the hair spirals through her own. There were many earrings from which to choose – twists, studs or tassels. Two multi-strand beaded necklaces also tempted her. Her fondest dream, though, was to wear the larger of the two headdresses. A magnificent shimmering tiara known as the “Great Diadem”. To experience her brow sheathed in a fringe of tiny golden chains, and feel the touch of long side tassels brush her temples and shoulders.
At the sound of footsteps, Freyja swivelled around. Darien Lessing crossed to her, wearing a khaki dust jacket, a satchel slung from his shoulder.
‘Such beauty trapped behind glass,’ he said, lingering on Helen’s Jewels. ‘Which of the two headdresses do you imagine wearing?’
She was startled he’d read her thoughts. ‘Why not both?’
He chuckled, placing his satchel on the table. ‘I presume Unverzagt rang you last night to say we must start packing the priceless items? The situation with the British is deteriorating. The foreign conference delegates have left Berlin in case war breaks out.’
‘It’s all very disturbing,’ she said. ‘Hopefully, cool heads will prevail.’
‘On all sides,’ murmured Lessing. He gestured to the display cabinet. ‘It’s particularly vital Treasure “A” is protected.’
‘Don’t reduce the magnificent exhibits in Priam’s Treasure to a boring letter of the alphabet,’ she said, studying the Great Diadem again. ‘The noblewoman who wore this headdress must have felt beautiful. Perhaps it was a gift from her husband. Certainly, she must have been a princess or queen to afford such riches.’
He studied her, head aslant. ‘Why, you’re a romantic, Fräulein. But I’m pleased you don’t think it was actually Helen of Troy who wore it. It’s dated from one thousand years before Homer’s Troy.’
She was annoyed by his condescension, hoping Herr Dietrich would arrive with the packing materials soon. Every German schoolchild knew about the Trojan gold and Heinrich Schliemann, the tycoon turned archaeologist who found it. He’d been inspired to locate Troy after reading about the lost city as a boy. He’d then amassed a fortune to fulfil his dream. But she also knew, disappointingly, the legendary King Priam never owned the items in the treasure that lay before her.
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Praise for Fables & Lies:
"A powerful and heartbreaking story set in war-torn Berlin, FABLES & LIES charts the slow dawning horror of a young woman as she realises all she has been taught about Hitler and the Third Reich is a lie. Impeccably researched and sensitively rendered, Elisabeth Storrs has shone a light on little-known aspects of life in Germany under the Nazi regime."
~ Kate Forsyth, bestselling author of Bitter Greens
"Elisabeth Storrs has indeed broken the mould by writing 'from the other side'. Evocative, detailed and heart-rending as the heroine journeys through disillusion and danger in the Third Reich."
~ Alison Morton, author of the Roma Nova series
"A chilling and meticulously researched journey into the shadow world of the Ahnenerbe. Blending historical rigor with gripping fiction, FABLES & LIES reminds us of the devastating consequences when history is twisted to serve power."
~ Leah Kaminsky, author of The Hollow Bones
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Elisabeth Storrs
Elisabeth Storrs has a great love for history and myths. She is the award-winning author of A Tale of Ancient Rome trilogy which was endorsed by Ursula Le Guin, Kate Quinn and Ben Kane.
Now her obsession lies with Trojan treasure and twisted Germanic prehistory in her new release, Fables & Lies: A World War II Novel.
Elisabeth is also the founder of the Historical Novel Society Australasia and the $155,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize. She lives in Sydney with her husband in a house surrounded by jacarandas.
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