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From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf – a gripping true story of unsolved murder, war, and injustice in Nazi-occupied Florence

‘I absolutely devoured The Einstein Vendetta… Remarkable. Totally compelling’ Edmund de Waal

‘Can’t express how moved I am. An absolute triumph. So much more than a mere book’ Allan Little

‘Thomas Harding is a researcher of the first rank’ Daily Express

‘Harding evokes time and place beautifully, while paying forensic attention to detail. The result is a slow burn of cliff-hangers to keep the pages turning’ Spectator

‘The Einstein Vendetta will tug at your heartstrings and prompt righteous outrage. Harding captures beautifully the general atmosphere of wartime Tuscany’ Telegraph

‘Did the Fuhrer personally order the hit? Doggedly pursuing his own investigation, Mr Harding interviews surviving witnesses and Einstein family members’ Economist

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Italy, Summer 1944

A unit of German soldiers arrives at a villa near Florence. Villa Il Focardo is home to Robert Einstein, cousin to the most famous scientist in the world, Albert Einstein – a prominent enemy of the Nazi regime. Having renounced his German citizenship a decade earlier, Albert’s safely in America, well beyond Hitler’s reach.

The same is not true for his cousin.

Twelve hours after arriving, the soldiers have vanished – and a family is dead. This crime – and what happened next – still haunts those who survived.

Who ordered it? Who was involved?

And why did they get away with it?

This is the untold story of the Einstein vendetta.

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Praise for Thomas Harding:

Hanns and Rudolf

‘A gripping thriller, an unspeakable crime, an essential history’ John le Carre

‘Thomas Harding has shed intriguing new light on the strange poison of Nazism, and one of its most lethal practitioners… Meticulously researched and deeply felt’ Ben Macintyre, Times Book of the Week

‘Fascinating and moving…This is a remarkable book, which deserves a wide readership’ Max Hastings, Sunday Times

The House by the Lake

‘The narrative drive of a great novelist and the meticulous research of a great historian’ The Herald

‘A passionate memoir about Germany’ Neil MacGregor, author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany: Memories of a Nation

‘I loved this book. I admire the elegance of it, the hope, the honesty and the generousness with which every resident is given his or her place. It has made me think about our individual parts in the bigger story, and the coming and going-ness of things. It is a book that will stay with me for a very long time’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

‘A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book’ Tom Holland, author of Rubicon

Publisher Review

Praise for The Einstein Vendetta * – * What’s in a name? Well, if it’s Einstein, quite a lot. Thomas Harding has carved out a significant reputation as a prize-winning writer, and The Einstein Vendetta makes for deeply shocking reading. This is a gripping, finely researched, superbly written and deeply important book — Anna Sebba * Spectator * I absolutely devoured The Einstein Vendetta. It is so moving and the way in which Harding navigates the unresolved nature of the story is quite remarkable. Totally compelling * Edmund de Waal * An absolute triumph. Beautifully judged and infused with humanity and empathy — Allan Little Praise for Thomas Harding * – * With the narrative drive of a great novelist and the meticulous research of a great historian, Harding has crafted a moving, instructive and important book — Dan Brotzel * The Herald * Harding is a thoughtful and honest writer . . . an exemplary piece of history writing * Literary Review * Thomas Harding, our most human historian, has, once again, brought it alive . . . in all its tragedy, glory, complexity — John Lewis-Stempel Thomas Harding is a researcher of the first rank. Nobody quite stirs the soup of historical detail like Harding * Daily Express * An absolute triumph. Beautifully judged and infused with humanity and empathy — Allan Little