Zaffre, the flagship adult fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, is thrilled to announce that the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz from novelist Heather Morris will be published this October in Hardback, eBook and Audio.
The story centres on Cilka Klein, one of the key characters from The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the teenage girl who saved Tattooist Lale Sokolov’s life. Sokolov told Heather that Cilka was ‘the bravest person’ he ever met. ‘Not the bravest girl,’ he insisted, ‘the bravest person.’
According to Heather Morris, whenever she talks about The Tattooist, and in almost all of the thousands of letters and emails she receives from readers, ‘people want to know what happened to Cilka’. The answer is heart-breaking. Selected on her arrival at Auschwitz by the commandant of Birkenau because of her beautiful long hair the sixteen-year-old was forced to become his sex slave. On liberation, and still only nineteen, she was charged by the Russians as a collaborator.
It is a privilege to bring this story of incredible courage, passion and the triumph of the human spirit, to life, in Cilka’s Journey.”
Heather Morris
Once again, Cilka found herself on a prison train, this time destined for the Siberian gulags. Once again, she was made to strip and wait, naked, in the snow. And once again, a guard looks at her too long… But what Cilka cannot imagine in the midst of such darkness are the endless resources she will find within herself – or how finding love will keep her alive.
Heather Morris said: “I too wanted to find out more about this extraordinary young woman. So I have decided to honour Cilka by using her life as the inspiration for this novel, a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It is a privilege to bring this story of incredible courage, passion and the triumph of the human spirit, to life, in Cilka’s Journey.”
Kate Parkin said: ‘With The Tattooist of Auschwitz riding the top of the bestsellers charts for over a year, and the unprecedented reader response it has generated, we are incredibly proud to announce publication of its sequel. Based on a true story, Cilka’s Journey will once again showcase Heather Morris’s powerful storytelling in an inspirational tale of hope and survival against the odds.’
More about The Tattooist of Auschwitz:
- • The novel has been #1 globally for the best part of the year and a huge word-of-mouth bestseller
- • In the UK, The Tattooist of Auschwitz paperback has spent 16 weeks at #1 on the paperback fiction chart. It has been number one for 13 weeks consecutively
- • TV rights for a major drama have been sold to Synchronicity, the makers of The Cry
- • Sold in 46 territories around the world
- • #1 in New York Times bestsellers list for three months consecutively
- • #5 bestselling book of the whole of 2018 just behind Michelle Obama
- • Apple’s Book of the Year 2018
- • Specsavers Nielsen Gold Award 2018
- • Eason’s Books of the Year 2018
- • Wordery Book of the Year 2018
- • Ireland’s biggest selling book of 2018 and #1 bestseller this Christmas
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