The Last Train to London: A Novel
The Last Train to London: A Novel book cover

The Last Train to London: A Novel

Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 10, 2019

by
Price
$16.94
Format
Hardcover
Pages
464
Publisher
Harper
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062946935
Dimensions
6 x 1.41 x 9 inches
Weight
1.33 pounds

Description

“The Last Train to London is painful and beautiful, absorbing and unforgettable.xa0 A wonderful tribute to courage, to a remarkable woman, to the ones she saved, and the ones she could not.xa0 Recommend this book to anyone who thinks no single person can make a difference.” — Karen Joy Fowler, author of the USA Today Bestseller We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves “ The Last Train to London is an absolutely fascinating, beautifully rendered story of love, loss, and heroism in the dark days leading up to World War II.xa0 Clayton perfectly captures the tension and heartbreak of the times, which feel so relevant today. It is a glowing portrait of women rising up against impossible odds to save children.” — Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Alone and The Nightingale “What a delight it was to read this brilliant telling of the Kindertransport, a novel threaded with compassion, hope and love. Thank you, Meg Waite Clayton for reminding us of what can happen when good people conspire against evil.”xa0 — Heather Morris, #1 bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz “ The Last Train to London is a rare thing: intellectually provocative and emotionally moving in equal measure. What a fine tribute to the victims and survivors of the Nazis’ early terrors, and to the woman who at great personal risk and sacrifice subverted Hitler’s will. Everyone should read this timely, gorgeous novel.” — Therese Anne Fowler, bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald “This is a standout historical fiction that serves as a chilling reminder of how insidious, pervasive evil can gradually seep into everyday lives.” — Publishers Weekly “Enlightening, meticulously researched ... Clayton’s story of the remarkable woman, known as Tante Truus, is enriched by a compelling cast of fictional characters.” — Booklist (starred review) “With its well-developed characters and race-against-the-clock plot, this fantastic novel should have broad appeal, especially with fans of historical fiction and thrillers.” — Library Journal (starred review) “Rivetingxa0… Clayton makes vivid Truus’s courage and resourcefulness in the face of growing danger as borders close throughout Europe.” — BBC “Glimmers with hope: the heroism of everyday people putting their own comfortable lives in jeopardy to help others.” — BookPage “Anxa0engrossing, heart-wrenching, and inspiringxa0account of ordinary people making life-and-death choice in the darkest of times.” — Jerusalem Post “Excellent. . . clearly the product of prodigious historical research. . . serves asxa0a reminder that even in dangerous times, every person can make a difference. . . . Ultimately, this historical novel offers great insight into the inspiring humanity of those who opposed the Nazis; Clayton brings Tante Truus to life at a timely moment when cruelty is once again on the march.” — San Francisco Examiner "Heartfelt and mesmerizing...takes the reader on an unforgettable journey...If you like books set in World War II featuring complex, courageous female protagonists who were ahead of their time, this book should earn a place at the top of the list." — Historical Novels Review From the New York Times bestselling novelist Meg Waite Clayton comes a powerful novel, set in the pre–World War II era, based on the true story of the Kindertransport rescue of ten thousand children from Nazi-occupied Europe—and of one brave woman who helped them escape. In 1936, the Nazis are little more than brutish boors to fifteen-year-old Stephan Neuman, a budding playwright and the son of a wealthy and influential Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. Stephan’s best friend and companion is the brilliant Žofie-Helene, a Christian girl whose mother edits a progressive, anti-Nazi newspaper. But the two adolescents’ carefree innocence is shattered when Hitler’s forces advance. There is hope in the darkness, though. Truus Wijsmuller, a childless Dutchwoman, risks her life to smuggle children out of Nazi-occupied lands to the nations that will take them. It is a mission that becomes even more dangerous as countries across Europe close their borders to the growing number of refugees desperate to escape after the Anschluss, Hitler’s annexation of Austria. Tante Truus, as she is known, is determined to save as many children as she can. After Britain passes a measure to take in young refugees from the German Reich, she dares to approach Adolf Eichmann, the man who would later help devise the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” Truus then sets off in a race against time to lead hundreds of children on a perilous journey to freedom. Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Postmistress of Paris (a Publisher’s Weekly notable book; HarperCollins, Nov. 30, 2021),xa0the National Jewish Book Award finalist and international bestseller The Last Train to London , the Langum Award honoree The Race for Paris , the Bellwether Prize finalist The Language of Light, and The Wednesday Sisters, anxa0Entertainment Weeklyxa025 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 essays, opinions, and reviews for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio. She mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com Read more

Features & Highlights

  • National Bestseller
  • A Historical Novels Review
  • Editors' Choice
  • •
  • A Jewish Book Award Finalist
  • “An absolutely fascinating, beautifully rendered story of love, loss, and heroism in the dark days leading up to World War II. . . . A glowing portrait of women rising up against impossible odds to save children.” —Kristin Hannah,
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author of
  • The Great Alone
  • and
  • The Nightingale
  • The
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author of
  • Beautiful Exiles
  • conjures her best novel yet, a pre-World War II-era story with the emotional resonance of
  • Orphan Train
  • and
  • All the Light We Cannot See
  • , centering on the
  • Kindertransports
  • that carried thousands of children out of Nazi-occupied Europe—and one brave woman who helped them escape to safety.
  • In 1936, the Nazi are little more than loud, brutish bores to fifteen-year old Stephan Neuman, the son of a wealthy and influential Jewish family and budding playwright whose playground extends from Vienna’s streets to its intricate underground tunnels. Stephan’s best friend and companion is the brilliant Žofie-Helene, a Christian girl whose mother edits a progressive, anti-Nazi newspaper. But the two adolescents’ carefree innocence is shattered when the Nazis’ take control.
  • There is hope in the darkness, though. Truus Wijsmuller, a member of the Dutch resistance, risks her life smuggling Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to the nations that will take them. It is a mission that becomes even more dangerous after the Anschluss—Hitler’s annexation of Austria—as, across Europe, countries close their borders to the growing number of refugees desperate to escape.
  • Tante Truus, as she is known, is determined to save as many children as she can. After Britain passes a measure to take in at-risk child refugees from the German Reich, she dares to approach Adolf Eichmann, the man who would later help devise the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” in a race against time to bring children like Stephan, his young brother Walter, and Žofie-Helene on a perilous journey to an uncertain future abroad.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(1.7K)
★★★★
25%
(690)
★★★
15%
(414)
★★
7%
(193)
★
-7%
(-194)

Most Helpful Reviews

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This could be one of the best books of 2019!

I read a fair number of fiction or historical fictions books about WWII, so I am always looking for something a little different. I also want to learn new things about that war. The Last Train to London fits the bill! This is a well-written and page turning story based on real life hero Truus Wijsmuller, known to the children as Tante Truus. She is one of the people who help to get children out of Germany and other Nazi-occupied countries via the Kindertransports. This book is in the same league as The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, though you cannot beat the gorgeous writing in All the Light.

Last Train spans the time from December 1936-May 1940. Hitler is in power and is busy occupying countries in Eastern Europe. He is also starting to deport Jewish men, steal their wealth and belongings, and place the remaining Jews in ghettos. The world is not yet at war. Ms. Wijsmuller lived in Amsterdam with her husband and they were a part of the Dutch resistance. She and her husband, along with some others, work to remove Jewish children from occupied countries into countries who are willing to accept them. It is not easy to find countries who are willing to accept the children, but England finally steps up. The other main historical figure in this book is the awful Adolf Eichmann, the man responsible for “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” The book also focuses on two families in Vienna: the very wealthy Jewish Neumans who are successful chocolatiers and the Christian Pergers who are involved with an anti-Nazi newspaper. Fifteen year old Stephan Neuman wants to be a playwright and is writing constantly. He meets Zofie-Helene Perger, who is a mathematical prodigy. They become best friends but they are separated when the Nazi’s invade Austria and Stephan’s father is killed. Stephan hides to avoid deportation while his ill mother and younger brother are in a ghetto. Zofie’s mother is arrested by the Nazi’s and she along with her grandfather and young sister do their best to survive. All these lives intersect when Tante Truus arranges to get 600 Jewish children out of Vienna and into England.

This story is just heartbreakingly beautiful with edge of your seat suspense. Thousands of parents make the difficult decision to send their children away to a foreign country to be fostered by strangers. Most are never reunited. This is a story of friendship, hope, and heroism. it is interesting to read about the maneuvering that Tante Truus and her friends had to accomplish to help the children escape the Nazis. The book is well written and the story is well told. The chapters are quite short, which bothered me initially as I had trouble sorting out the characters. This problem disappeared quickly and I think that the short chapters suit the pace of the book. This is the first book I have read by Meg Waite Clayton, but I will certainly check out her other work.

Thank you to Amazon Vine for the opportunity to preview this book.
120 people found this helpful
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A truly great read

Reading this book made me feel what it must have been like to be in Austria prior to WWII, experiencing the horror of the Reich and the persecution of the Jews. Through the eyes of children, the author makes this era come alive again. As a parent, it made me better understand the impossible situation these families were in, having to send their children away to allow them to survive. While the subject matter is difficult, the author made this a very readable novel through her use of very accessible and clear language and short chapters. The interpersonal relationships are well-developed and very interesting. I could easily see this becoming a movie. Sadly, the subject matter also resonates with what is going on with refugees and immigrants around the world today, which is chilling. I highly recommend this book.
31 people found this helpful
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Historical Fiction of Saving Children from the Nazis

“The Last Train to London”, by Meg Waite Clayton, is partially based on the true story of Truus Wijsmulle (“Tante Truss”) who helped smuggle hundreds of Jewish children out of Germany and Austria during WWII. The other three main characters are Stephan, a Jewish teenager aspiring to be a playwright, his much young brother Walter, and Žofie-Helene, a young girl who helps Stephan and Walter.

The novel is structured in short sections that bounce around among various characters and their particular plots. It’s a quick read, because of the shortness of each section, but because of that, I never got invested in the characters or their stories. At one point I put my bookmark in the wrong place and started reading about 75 pages ahead of where I was, and I didn’t even notice for several chapters.
18 people found this helpful
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Disappointing

I have only read three chapters but each of them were annoying. This is an amateurly written book. Snowflakes are not "stout". Affectations like that stop my reading in its tracks. Also, several times I had to re-read sentences to figure out what the author was trying to say. Really. And the scene where Stefan meets the young girl . . . If the author mentioned her "budding breasts" one more time , I thought I'd start groaning. We get it. But it's so inappropriate. Yet another book about the war that is really a romance. A potentially good story ruined by an amateur writer.
16 people found this helpful
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Slow plot, too many characters

This novel is based on the organization and implementation of the real Vienna Kindertransport that was led by Geertruida Wijsmuller. This fictional story occurs prior to 1940, and primarily happens during 1938.

We see a Dutch couple, Truus (Geertruida) and her husband Joop Wijsmuller, who are childless. Truus is a brave and outspoken woman who risks her life countless time to seek refuge for helpless children. We also see the rich Jewish family of Stephan, who is stripped of everything once the Germans invade Austria. There is the family of Zophie(Stephan’s best friend), whose mother is a journalist reporting the true crimes of the Nazi’s and eventually is on the run. And, there is also Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi in charge of ridding Germany of its Jewish population through emigration.

Beginning in 1936, we see the pre-invasion environment of Austria through the eyes of Stephan and Zophie. The “re-culturing” that Hitler aimed to achieve is a common topic of discussion in Stephan’s household among his parents and family members who are strong admirers of art. Soon after the Nazi’s have began assaulting their culture, German soldiers in their brown shirts with swastikas march in while Stephan and Zophie rehearsing a play. How will Zophie, an Aryan, react when Stephan is treated with brutality by Nazi’s? Meanwhile, after invasion, Truus plans to transport a large number of children in danger to London.

It was hard for me to get invested in this story. There were too many characters in motion for me to get attached and emotional. With the chapters being so short, it also took a long time to get to know them. There was too much dialogue between Truus and Joop that was about everyday things which overcrowded their character. It felt like too much information was included about the planning process and mundane arbitrary paperwork that went into Truus’ operations rather than focusing on her “in action”. While the information was appreciated and lent to authenticity, it took away from the story and the characters. At times, they felt so far away from me because I felt clustered and weighed down in intentions, ideas, and procedures. I wanted to be in my feelings, but it didn’t happen.
The story was at a dull but tolerant trot until 65% (on a Kindle) in which the plot starts to build and the story starts to take flight…but it’s almost over at that point.
Many thanks to HarperCollins, Edelweiss, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
12 people found this helpful
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WW II Historical Fiction at Its VERY Best!

I love Historical Fiction, especially WWII ERA. This novel is one of the best historical fiction pieces I have read.
The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton is based on the true story of Truus Wijsmulle who affected change by helping smuggle thousands of Jewish children from Germany and Austria in WWII.

The research that went into this novel is very apparent to this reader. The characters that were crafted were complex and complicated yet innocent and determined at the same time.

My heart broke 1000 times reading this book . This is an engaging read and a reminder of a horrific time in history. I highly recommend this book.
6 people found this helpful
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A harrowing read, but recommended to bring home the horrors of the Nazi occupation

This is a fictionalized story based on the very real kindertransport trains and ferries taking Jewish children out of Nazi Europe. The real woman who convinced Eichmann to allow the first 600 children to be transported to London, when England agreed to provide visas for them, was named Geertruida Wijsmuller. She saved a large number of Jewish children’s lives, first by taking two and three, and sometimes as many as ten, out of Germany and into the Netherlands. She started doing this in the mid-1930s. The situation became more urgent after Hitler invaded Austria. Many countries closed their borders and refused to allow Jewish people entry visas. Tante Truus, as she had the children call her, worked with some highly placed people in England to pressure their parliament to allow children to be evacuated and held in two summer camps until foster families could take them in. After the war, she was granted Righteous Among the Nations status.

The story in this book centers on two families. One a wealthy Jewish chocolatier who has a wife suffering from cancer. They have two sons, Stephan and Walter. The other, a barber, a Christian grandfather who has a widowed daughter-in-law with two daughters. One is Zofie-Helene and the other Johanna. Their mother is a journalist who is very outspoken against the Nazis.

The story starts with both families living their normal lives and Zofie and Stephan becoming close friends. She’s mathematically gifted and he’s interested in being a playwright.

The chapters alternate between their stories and the story of Tante Truus and her rescues of small groups of children and the dangers she faces in that endeavor.

With Truus in the Netherlands and the others in Vienna, I wondered in the early parts of the book how she was going to help them being as they are quite a ways apart.

When Germany annexes Austria with not so much as a shot fired and seemingly overnight, Stephan’s family’s life undergoes a massive change. His father is taken to a camp and he goes into hiding as he is of an age where the Nazis want to inter him in a camp as well. His brother is only five and, at this time, they were not taking children that young to the camps.

Zofie’s mother, a Christian, eventually gets taken by the Nazis due to her unwelcome stories pointing out their conduct which she won’t stop writing even though she is pressured to do so. The two girls are left with their grandfather.

The story unfolded at a good pace. Some of the parts were very hard to read. The author depicted the utterly senseless cruelty of the Nazis and their adherents very well. It always amazes me how terribly awful these people could be to other people. And how the population turned on people who had been their friends and fellow citizens just days prior.

The author also did a good job showing the fear and terror of the ordinary citizen and why so many didn’t speak up to try to stop the atrocities they witnessed. A great part of the population was cowed and if they spoke up, they would be punished severely as well. Some of them tortured and murdered merely for voicing an opinion—or for nothing at all, even an imagined slight.

It was a harrowing read but one I recommend for several reasons. One, the story of the main characters in Vienna seems to be a reflection of what a lot of families went through during this time. Two, the story of Geertruida Wijsmuller is a story of how one person can make a massive difference in the lives of so many. One voice, one brave soul, she saved so many and gave them a chance at life and that is amazing. And third, with the seeming resurgence of some of the awful ideas the Nazi’s had, this is an important read. We must never, ever, let these things happen again and the author of this book makes what happened to Jewish people, as well as anyone who disagreed with the Nazi ideals in that time, all very real and relatable with the characters she created.

This one is well worth a read.
3 people found this helpful
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Lacks tension and I could not connect with characters

I expected a lot after reading the Amazon blurb for this book: “a pre-World War II-era story with the emotional resonance of “Orphan Train” and “All the Light We Cannot See,” centering on the Kindertransports. Those are two of my favorite novels in recent years.

This novel covers 1936 to 1940 as Truus Wijsmuller and her efforts to smuggle Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. The story is told through two viewpoints and short chapters. Truus and fifteen-year-old Stephan Neuman.

All Stephan want to do is write plays, go to the theater and hang out with his new Zofie-Helene, a Christian girl he meets through his barber. Zofie is a math prodigy. I didn’t understand what she was saying half of the time, and I think contributed to my unfavorable reponse to the story.

As the story opens, Stephan and Zofie live in Vienna, a city on the edge with the imminent threat of a Nazi invasion. The wander through the city, mostly through a complex cave system, popping up here and there, that seemed a tad ludacrious to me.

Truus, a member of the Dutch resistance, begins to smuggle children out of Germany, making more and more trips into the occupied country. Maybe this is my twenty-first century perspective talking, but I found that the way she instructed all the children to call her Tante Truus (Aunt Truus) creepy. I understand that it was necessary given the unforeseeable encouters they would have, but it made me extremely uneasy. Also, I found her sections lacking tension; she never seemed to be in real danger, even when she was escorting thirty children across the border. And that is my biggest complaint of this novel---lack of tension. Never did I feel thatStephan, his five-year-old brother Walter, Zofie, Truus or the children were in life-or-death situations.

Because of the short chapters, I never felt a real connection to any of the characters. The most positive aspect of ready this lengthy novel is that the name Truus Wijsmuller may now be recognized for the great work that she did. Truus is credited with saving over 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazi horrors.

Due to its lack of tension and the inability to make me connect with the characters, “The Last Train to London” receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
3 people found this helpful
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A beautifully written, meticulously researched, fictionalized history of the Kindertransport effort

A beautifully written, meticulously researched, fictionalized history of the Kindertransport effort which managed to rescue 10,000 children from Nazi occupied Europe in the nine months prior to the outbreak of WWII (relocating them in England which temporarily waived immigration requirements for the effort. A similar effort in the U.S. was quickly quashed by FDR himself.)

We follow two narratives that slowly weave together: one follows Geertruida Wijsmuller or “Tante Truus,” — the Dutch woman who drives the Kindertransport effort from the politicking at home to the many, many, individual rescues in Europe. The other follows children and their families in Vienna who will eventually become part of Tante Truus’ transport.

I loved the characters — particularly the Austrian children. Clayton succeeded in making these children so bright and so real, their pain and determination nuanced and completely beyond the brief words I can find to describe them. Stephan Neuman — a 16-year old, budding playwright — and his five-year old brother Walter. Theirs is a highly cultured family, and I loved the immersion in the rich cultural world that Stephan inhabited. Stephan’s friend Žofie-Helene Perger — a mathematical prodigy whose non-Jewish mother is a journalist who speaks out against the Nazis putting herself and her family at great risk. And how can you not love Tante Truus who literally can’t bear to think about a child getting left behind if there were anything at all she could do to prevent it.

The real brilliance of Clayton’s book lies in the meticulous portrayal of the many tiny details that comprise life at that time — the underground tunnels, the linotype machines, and mouthwatering descriptions of the chocolatier’s trade. Hovering like a black cloud over these small details, the progressive hardships and changing attitudes of neighbors and friends, the slow shame that creeps up on children who are suddenly treated as different, the insidious and constant fear, disbelief, and tension that inhabits every moment. At the same time, the macroscopic details of global policies — the committees, the bureaucracy, the movements, and the fear on the part of foreign populations and governments as they slowly turn their backs on what was happening to the Jews (and other undesirables) in Europe as the Nazis plow their way through the continent. The book is utterly gripping.

For me, this is the best of the recent spate of WWII / Holocaust books: it felt incredibly real, and I was surprised to learn new things about a topic in which I’m quite well-read. I appreciated that the ultimately uplifting story was focused on survival and rescue, rather than the horrors and despair of the camps. A surprising extra: enduring the frustration (with our characters) of watching countries closing their borders to such desperate need (even though Jewish societies had offered financial support to ensure that host countries would not bear the costs) gave me a new perspective on the refugee crises facing the world today.
3 people found this helpful
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Courage defined in “The Last Train to London”

“The Last Train to London” is the amazing true story of a Dutch woman and her English, French & German contacts who successfully extricated 10,000 predominantly Jewish children out of Nazi occupied territory. By telling the story through the events of fictionalized families we are better able to grasp the absolute horrors that engulfed millions. The author pays homage to real life Dutch hero Truus Wisjmuller and others whose courage saved so many children. Readers are faced with the question of whether they could have behaved so bravely.
2 people found this helpful

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