Diney Costeloe

You can now download Diney’s latest three books onto most e-book readers

The Ashgrove, Death’s Dark Vale and Evil on the Wind are all available to download from Smashwords.

Go to www.smashwords.com
Choose Fiction in the left hand column.
Click on Historical and then enter ‘Costeloe’ in the search box.
Receive a sample of the book free to read before you decide to buy.

E-books are the simplest way to carry your library round with you…so add a
Diney Costeloe to your reading list.

Death's Dark Vale · Ebooks · Evil on the Wind · The Ashgrove

Evil On The Wind - Review by Jane Hill

Evil On The Wind - Review by Jane Hill
www.historicalnovelsociety.org

Diney Costeloe. Castlehaven Books. 2009. £9.99. 312pp. 9780954038342

This novel starts in 1937.

When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 he set about establishing a pure Aryan race, wiping out other races, most especially the Jews. Persecution of the Jews quickly became a national way of life and as a result of the terrifying persecution and hatred many Jews fled from Germany and sought refuge in other countries. Ruth Friedmann and her four children, their home and small shop burned down, and her husband Kurt, arrested by the SS following a terrifying an anti Jewish riot, were forced to flee. Ruth sought help from relatives and friends, but they too were terrified and refused to help.

With the help of the Jewish Affairs Office Ruth was able to make contact with other Jews and with a Rabbi who arranged for her and the family to cross into Austria, but once again they found themselves fleeing for their lives as German troops marched into Austria.

This is compelling fiction based on historical fact. Those of us who lived through World War 2 and were able to provide work for the many Jews who had escaped the tyranny of Nazi Germany will recognise the truth in this unique account of Hitler’s Final Solution.

Uncategorized

Evil on the Wind - Review by Lyn Baines

Evil on the Wind - Review by Lyn Baines
http://preferreading.blogspot.com

Diney Costeloe is a member of my online book group & she very kindly offered to send me a copy of her latest book, Evil on the Wind. Elaine at Random Jottings had already reviewed it very positively so I was interested to read it. I must admit I don’t read a lot of fiction about WWII apart from books written during that time. Since I discovered Persephone Books & the marvellous books they’ve published about this period, I’ve been reluctant to read anything else. I’ve also read a lot of non-fiction about this period & I’ve come to prefer it. However, I was quickly swept up in the drama of Diney’s book & I read it in virtually one sitting.

The Friedmans are a Jewish family living in Germany in the late 30s. The book opens with an anti-Jewish riot in which the Friedman’s shop & home are burnt down & Kurt Friedman is arrested. His wife, Ruth, & their four children escape the mob & begin a harrowing journey & struggle to survive. Ruth goes to Kurt’s brother, Herbert, for help. He’s a wealthy lawyer but he’s horrified when the family turns up on his doorstep &, although he reluctantly allows them to stay, he obviously feels uncomfortable. He decides to emigrate to Argentina but is caught smuggling diamonds out of the country & arrested. His former housekeeper, Frau Schultz had been stealing from him & spying on him & Ruth’s family & she denounced Herbert to the authorities then confiscates his apartment & evicts Ruth & the children.

Ruth then goes to her mother in Stuttgart but finds she has been forced to sell the family home & is living in poverty. They decide to go to Ruth’s sister, Edith, in Vienna, & after securing with difficulty the passports needed for the children, they arrive to a frosty reception from well-off Edith. Ruth finds work in a draper’s store, rents a tiny apartment & gets the children into school.

All this time, we’re also following Kurt’s journey. He’s sent to Dachau after his arrest &, after enduring deprivation & brutality there, he’s released after he agrees to sell his home & give the proceeds to the government. It’s really no choice at all, of course, but freedom is the important thing & he sets off on a journey that takes him to Munich & Stuttgart (where he finds he’s missed his family), Hamburg, Holland & eventually England, where he works to find sponsors to bring Ruth & the children to safety. This is especially important after the Anschluss in 1938, when Germany annexed Austria & the laws against the Jews were intensified.

Ruth’s brother-in-law, David, is shocked when his father is arrested & he takes his family to Shanghai. Ruth loses her job & has to make a terrible choice when there is an opportunity for only two of the children to go on the Kindertransport. This charitable plan saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish children taken to safety in England, but at the cost of separation from their families.

The most compelling thing about this novel is the way it depicts the atmosphere of fear & suspicion of the time. I really felt what it would have been like to live in Germany at a time when anti-Jewish laws & propaganda had turned neighbours into potential spies & enemies. The Friedmans are helped by many people on their separate journeys but always with a backward glance at who might be watching them. Some people help them willingly, some grudgingly, & they never know what response they will receive from family, friends or strangers. The persecution of the Jews didn’t begin in 1939 with the outbreak of war. The gradual process of removing the rights of Jews to education, work & private property was insidious but very purposeful. Many people took advantage of the new laws to exploit their neighbours & take their revenge for suspected or real past injuries. But, there were many others who resisted as much as they could to help friends & neighbours who were persecuted because of their race & religion. It’s important that we don’t forget the past & that we’re forever vigilant so that such persecution should never happen again. Evil on the Wind reminds us of the consequences of forgetting the past.

Evil on the Wind · Reviews

Evil on the Wind - Review by Elaine Simpson-Long

Evil on the Wind - Review by Elaine Simpson-Long
http://randomjottings.typepad.com

Evil on the Wind tells the story of a Jewish family, living in Germany, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. We are all familiar with the happenings of that time and the persecution of the Jews; the stealing of their property, the arrests in the middle of the night, the stripping of all dignity and rights; the hardships and the humiliations they suffered.

Ruth Friedman and her four children are left alone following the destruction of their home and the arrest of her husband, Karl. She is homeless and seeks help from her friends and neighbours who are unwilling to harbour her in case of reprisals. She manages to make her way to her brother-in-law, Herbert, who takes them in, albeit reluctantly and, as the situation in Germany worsens, he decides to leave the country and go to Argentina leaving Ruth and her family behind. He goes and to Ruth’s horror, she learns he has been arrested and she and her family are turned out of the apartment which is now claimed by his housekeeper, Frau Schulz, as her reward for betraying them all to the Gestapo.

After many tribulations, Ruth manages to get her family out of Germany and goes to stay with her sister and husband in Austria. She has merely jumped out of the frying pan into the fire, as within months of her arrival the Anschluss takes place and not only does she have to submit to the same treatment as she received in Germany, so do her family who had no real understanding of what happened to Ruth prior to their arrival. Now they do. Once again, she is left alone as her sister, husband and children flee the country leaving Ruth behind with her mother and children. She remains behind hoping to hear from her husband Karl to whom she has written and left a letter with neighbours in their old home.

And what of Karl? He has been released from Dachau on the premise that he returns and hands over the deeds to his property to the Commandant, but once he arrives at his old home, he receives the letter from Ruth who admits she has already had to hand over the deeds to another member of the Gestapo. So, he is now on the run with a vengeance and the middle section of the book is devoted to his escape from those who are chasing him. He meets with betrayal and bravery on his way, helped by some, betrayed by others. While one’s reaction to the betrayer is contempt and anger, it is easy to feel this way when reading this book indoors nice and safe and far removed from the time and place. I do wonder sometimes how I, or others, would react if tested in this way. Would be good to think we would all be brave and honest, but would we? If one’s life and family were threatened we would do all we could to protect them.

In the end, Karl makes it to England, helped by the father of a colleague who has warned him against joining his family in Austria, much though he yearns to see them.

Evil on the Wind · Reviews