Majstor porculana

Majstor porculana

Sarah Freethy

The novel is Sarah Freethy's debut work, a historical fiction with elements of mystery, love, and art, inspired by the real Allach porcelain factory in the Dachau concentration camp (the SS's production of "Aryan" porcelain).

The story unfolds in two timelines:

  • 1929–1940s, Germany (Weimar, Berlin, Dachau): Young artists – Bettina Vogel, an avant-garde painter, and Max, a talented Jewish architect and porcelain master – fall in love in the bohemian vortex of the Weimar Republic. Their passionate, forbidden relationship (she an "Aryan", he a Jew) confronts the rise of Nazism. Max's talent for porcelain attracts the attention of the regime: he is forced to work in the Allach factory, where the SS uses prisoners to produce luxurious figurines and serviceware. The lovers struggle for survival amidst persecution, betrayal, camps and war. Bettina risks her life to protect Max and their secret, while art becomes a resistance and a refuge.
  • 1993, contemporary America/Europe: Bettina's daughter Clara Vogel (or a similar character), raised without a father, inherits a rare porcelain object – a unique figurine signed by a master. Clara sets out on a quest to find the truth about her father and mother's past. Through research, she uncovers the dark history of porcelain, a mother’s love, and the sacrifices of war. Fragments of memory, letters, and artifacts reveal secrets, betrayals, and courage.

The novel weaves an epic love story with historical horrors: the rise of Nazism, the Holocaust, forced labor, and art as resistance. Porcelain symbolizes fragility, beauty, and permanence amidst brutality—a perfect metaphor for love and humanity in the midst of hell. Freethy writes emotionally, in detail, with a focus on female strength, artistic spirit, and the effects of war on generations.

Original title
Porcelain Maker
Translation
Maja Klarić
Editor
Nataša Pejić
Graphics design
Snježana Hladni
Dimensions
21 x 13.5 cm
Pages
322
Publisher
Znanje, Zagreb, 2025.
 
Latin alphabet. Paperback.
Language: Croatian.

One copy is available

Condition:Unused
 

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