I thought this had a great storyline highlighting some of the horrors of WW2. I was initially drawn to it because in my range of WW2 readings I hadn’t yet read any based on one of The Channel Islands so this book was refreshing in that respect. The experiences of the characters held my attention however I did lose my interest a little in the middle but it picked up again and events tied together nicely at the end. I’m grateful to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review in exchange for a digital copy

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

Although I knew The Channel Islands had been occupied by the Germans during WW2 I wasn't aware of the details. This story made me think about how the people suffered there and I found the characters really interesting.
I really appreciated the Afterword that put everything in context and am planning on finding out more about this period in history.
An interesting and immersive read

For me, The Hidden is a bit of a slow burner of a novel, it probably took me until around half way to get totally absorbed in it, and then I couldn't let it go.

This novel opens in 1985, where Dora Simon and Joe O'Cleary are living in separate countries, unaware that their paths are about to collide, and unaware that they passed before, during the Second World War when they were both living in Jersey under German occupation.

We are then transported back in time to occupied Jersey, where we learn that Dora is a German Aryan Jew, hiding under the guise of a Swedish Aryan.

Dora is a midwife, though she dreamed of becoming a Doctor. Through the tragic death of his daughter, and her stillborn child, she meets Geoffrey, the man she knows she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Geoffrey is a social outcast and Dora is warned off him several times, though she is never given any real reason for this.

Joe O'Cleary is an Irish priest, hiding a terrible secret of his own. He is a keen amateur boxer, and bird watcher, and it is through the love of the latter that he meets Trude a German nurse.

Both Dora and Joe know that they shouldn't be putting themselves in the danger that they are by falling in love with those who are deemed unsuitable for them, particularly during wartime.

But it is precisely during the wartime that these usually forbidden relationships seem to blossom, as people fear for their lives and their families.

The Hidden is a beautifully written novel, and has real as well as historical figures within it's chapters. The story is much more than I have detailed above, but much like the characters themselves, I believe that each reader will go away with their own version of this story.

This novel was a truly moving story. It centres around three people-older farmer Geoffrey, doubting Irish priest as well as boxing club champion and passionate ornithologist-Father Joe O'Cleary and Jewish midwife Dora Simon, and how they lived through the long forgotten German occupation of British Isle island Jersey, which is close to Normandy-the site where the famous D-Day occurred. The story shifts to and from present Jersey in 1985, to 40 plus years back in the years of the German Occupation of Jersey 1942-1943. Geoffrey, Joe and Dora are in their twilight years and are determined to put their horrific pasts behind them, but then a German woman named Barbara Hummel shows up unexpectedly with a photograph of a particular woman and a man named Maximilian List, and another woman wearing a dress. These photographs were found in Barbara's mother's possessions and she therefore, wants to find out the truth about her real background. Barbara and her mother didn't really have a good familial relationship. Although Dora and Joe push Barbara away too many times because they don't want to face the past as they are still racked with extreme guilt of what they saw and what had happened to them. Then the memories keep haunting them despite their attempts to just forget and move on as many war victims had to back in those times when PTSD wasn't recognised nor talked about. Back in World War Two, Dora is a midwife in England, she fled to England to get away from the Nazi regime. Her late father was doctor but he died in 1933. She has an uncle Otto living in England, he is currently interned as an enemy alien. The locals, including Dora's landlady as well as the law, treat Dora with contempt because she is Jewish and that she looks like a foreigner, possibly a German they suspect. Dora sticks with the charade she made up that she is Swedish. Dora then forms a connection with Geoffrey as they tend to his dying daughter, Margaret. They begin a romantic relationship and what they had was real, but their relationship generates a lot of rumour as the local folk don't like Geoffrey because of his past. Then their relationship becomes even more complicated, as they shelter prisoners of the German Nazis. In a cruel twist of fate and betrayal, Geoffrey and Dora are torn apart and sent to different German camps. Meanwhile, Joe O'Cleary is an Irish priest who has doubts about his vocation as his family forced him into it-to wear the vestments of a priest in a Roman Catholic Church. Joe's family is very abusive, especially his butcher father and his brother, because they blame him for a particular incident that was not Joe's fault at all, and they refused to reconcile with him after he told them his personal concerns. Joe attempts to address his loneliness and isolation in his religious life, by setting up a boxing club to train boys and watching birds. His life entwines with Geoffrey's and briefly Dora's as he performs the last rites for Margaret. In present day Jersey in 1985, Joe is living with Geoffrey at his farm and helps take care of the now elderly Geoffrey, he gave up the priesthood when the war was over, as he seriously doubted religion and God, after he witnessed terrible things at the labour camp he was sent to, as well as feeling ashamed of his sins. The photographs that Barbara shows borth Dora and Joe separately reminds them of the people they wholly trusted and who, ultimately, betrayed them and Geoffrey without a care. Dora had become a hardened person after the war, because of what she endured at the hands of the Nazis. The novel addresses the sex trafficking and brothels women were sent to, where they were used and abused as prostitutes and as child bearers for Aryan women to aid the Lebensborn program to raise pure and healthy Aryan children. These women were not acknowledged at all in the war trials, it was as if their struggles were not important at all. The novel's main message is that war brings out victims of us all, from the victor down to the defeated. Everyone wants to only hear about heroes who wore dashing uniforms, got a chest of medals and saved the world, but what about the people who got left behind? The ones who had to deal with ridicule, clean up after the tremendous mess their captors made at their expense, homefront violence and being treated as a collaborator? These women were subjected to rough justice and humiliation by shaving or tarring and feathering. I also didn't know there were labour camps in Jersey until I read this novel. The way the prisoners were worked to death and how tyrannical the Nazis were an understatement. They were all used as scapegoats-including Jewish citizens. They had to unwillingly help the German build their Atlantic Wall coastal defence. They were hoping for the war would be over soon and for the first time, both Joe and Dora were happy as they heard the Allied planes going to the Normandy coast as Jersey is near Normandy. I'm glad that some escaped prisoners did evade capture for the duration of the war. They desperately wanted to catch and keep a break. But seriously, how the women survived the emotional and psychological effects of sexual enslavement is a mystery, since the scars of sexual violence go deep. The victims of war didn't talk about their experiences when the war ended because local people back then were very judgemental and didn't really care about the sufferings of others, they only know what they saw and they held tightly to stereotypes instead of being sympathetic and empathetic. Because no one would really care to listen and the fact that the war victims wanted to move on with their lives, the let their pasts go under the rug. The ending was bittersweet and the climax nearing the end left me on the edge of my seat, but I did suspect the truth quite a while before. "The memories were stashed away to gather dust, untouched, unvisited." The biggest lessons I took away from this novel were don't take things and people at face value, there's so much more to the story and that talking and seeking a friendly, non-judgemental listening ear is very important therapy. We are so fortunate that we now live in a time where we can openly talk about our issues and attend counselling and therapy, but in those days the only thing people got were forget about it and go about your business. And people chose vices to dull their painful memories which isn't good. Don't bottle up everything. Overall, this was a great novel about a forgotten aspect of World War Two and I want to thank the author Mary Chamberlain for bringing it to the light.

The Hidden is intense literary fiction moving from the occupied British Channel Islands in 1943 to London in 1985. A gripping story with well rounded characters in a grim landscape of natural beauty.
I knew about 'tar and feathers' for woman having collaborated with the German occupiers, but this book tells the other side of the story: the fate of woman who had no choice. A heartbreaking tale.
I'm deeply impressed by their strenght to hold on and later their struggle through PTS. The writing is excellent.
After all this endurance the story ends with a welcome twist that gives the book a pleasant finale.
The author's notes on this part of history are highly appreciated.

Until I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, my knowledge of the German occupation of the English Channel Islands was quite slim. The Hidden takes the reader back to that time, but on the island of Jersey, the other occupied island. The occupation of Guernsey and Jersey was a long one, five years – most of the second world war, and they were completely cut off from Britain for the duration. The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by German Armed Forces during the war. The effects of this have been lasting, for all those who were trapped on either island, and this novel takes an empathic approach to exploring this.

‘His war was not the war the British fought and won. His war was one of cruelty and loss. Guilt and betrayal. Savage as wolves that return to their prey, that it was.’

The two main characters, Joe and Dora, are connected by a mutual friend, but the depth of this connection becomes more apparent as the novel progresses. Both Joe and Dora were imprisoned during the war, forced into places and situations they never would have found themselves in during times of peace. The beauty in this novel is in its honesty, the brutality exposed, the deprivation, the debasement; at times it’s not an easy novel to read but it’s a profoundly moving one.

‘Would she have told a sister, if she’d had one, about the war? Sworn her to secrecy? She used to think so, but not now. She was used to her burden, carried it around wherever she went . Her memories were all she had in the world. Sometimes she thought of them crammed into a Gladstone, or a carpet bag, something soft and shapeless that expanded, with secret pockets and compartments.’

The instinct for human survival never ceases to amaze me, just as the evil that rests within humans no longer surprises me. This novel is very much a study within both of these spaces: survival and evil. The Hidden portrays its history well, and while this is a fictional story, it’s tethered by historical events and the author notes detailing the sources accessed demonstrates the novel’s validity. The dual timeline worked particularly well moving between 1985 and the occupied years. In 1985, the Berlin Wall was still standing, the Iron Curtain still closed; WWII was still a present history for all. This is well demonstrated through the character of Barbara Hummell, who is shaking up the lives of Joe and Dora with her persistence in seeking information from them about their experiences in Jersey during the war. Barbara carries her own burden as a child of Germany, born during the war years, uncertain of her parentage and seeking to find her place in a world still bearing deep scars from Nazism.

‘It’s been difficult for my generation of Germans,’ she said. ‘To live in the shadow of the war, with parents refusing to admit what happened. We took on their guilt.’ ‘You can’t be blamed for the past.’ ‘No, but we are responsible for the future. We need to account for what went on, before we can forge ahead. That doesn’t start in the archive. It starts at home.’

The Hidden is beautifully written, the prose almost poetic at times. Even when describing boxing the author gave it a certain grace that elevated it into a form of art. The story was so powerful that there was no need for dramatic overplay. It is a very well written novel by an author who knows just how much to give and just how much to hold back; perfectly balanced. I highly recommend The Hidden to those who like their historical fiction unapologetically honest.

‘Joe stared through the open window at the darkening sky. This time of a June evening, it folded around them like an indigo scarf. The silence was broken by the chirring of a nightjar, his soft hum rising and falling. It was a difficult bird to spot. Bad enough by day, impossible by night unless you caught it flying. But you could hear it. Listen and look.’


Thanks is extended to Oneworld via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Hidden for review.

Based on real events which occurred in occupied Jersey in WW11 this is a fictional story of three protagonists : Dora , Geoffrey and Joe. The novel successfully flits between two time periods , during the occupation in the 40s and the mid 1980s when our characters are elderly. A young woman arrives into their lives in the 80s investigating her parents who she believed to be German and based in jersey.
I have read many books set during the Second World War and recently my favourite was the nightingale. The hidden is a well written , researched novel and I enjoyed it, however the reason it hasn’t made 5 stars ⭐️ personally for me is that the beginning of the story flowed beautifully but mid way in parts of the novel were drawn out and a little flat, pages taken to description which could have been reduced to paragraphs. I found the character “joe” waffled unnecessarily, to the point of sadly becoming dull. A blessing that the chapters were short.
I also found the love affair between Dora and Geoffrey unbelievable there was no passion and no spark. However the events depicted in Jersey were very well written very believable and clearly well researched. Anyone interested In this period or the occupation of the Channel Islands would find this book interesting and well written , I haven’t read the Guernsey literary potato peel society so can’t compare to that , but it is on my TBR pile.
Thanks to Faber and Faber and Net galley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the stories of three main characters living their retirement when Barbara Hummel, a German woman who is seeking to discover what happened during the occupation of Jersey towards the end of World War Two.

I found it to be an enjoyable with well thought out characters and very descriptive writing. In some places, I found it quite difficult to read due to the nature of the story but it was very well done.

Recommended to anyone who enjoyed The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society.

This book looks at the experiences of three main characters living on Jersey towards the end of World War Two. Dora is a midwife who meets farmer Geoffrey when called to a birth at his farm. Joe is an Irish priest and boxer. The memories of what happened to them during the war is brought back to them by visits and letters from a woman trying to find out about her mother who was also in Jersey during the war. She has photographs which bring so many memories flooding back, memories of shame and heartbreak.

I love dual timeline stories where there is a mystery connecting past and present waiting to be solved. I also am drawn to books set in wartime. This book brought to light an element of women's experiences in WW2 which I was unaware of and I was fascinated, though also horrified, to read the facts that this story was based on and inspired by. It was interesting and rather puzzling to read that Britain chose not to prosecute these atrocities and war crimes carried out on the Channel Islands, the only part of UK soil occupied during the war.

This book is well named with so many secrets kept hidden for so many years. I could easily understand why the characters, and Dora in particular, didn't want to talk about what happened and when you hear about these experiences, it's not surprising. The characters felt compelled to hide parts of their personality, their backgrounds and their feelings during the war too in order to keep safe, and who could blame them? I'm not sure that I could have been as brave as they were faced with such appalling circumstances.

The Hidden explores the capacity of human spirit to survive and carry on. Mary Chamberlain clearly shows the enormous feelings of guilt felt by her characters even though they were not the ones who should be feeling guilty. Her compelling novel weaves together past and present, telling a story of women in war that is perhaps not widely known.

Having lived on Jersey in the mid 1990's, a mere 10 years after the fictional setting of this book in 1985 and having visited The Jersey War Museum and the unfinished German Underground Hospital many times on visits back to the Island, I chose this book to read because I love WW2 historical fiction and I am also keenly aware of the occupation of Jersey and the cost to its residents.

This book is set in two time periods, 1985 and 1943-45 and surrounds Dora, a German Jewish nurse living in St. Helier passing herself off as a Swedish aryian, Fr. Joe O'Cleary, a conflicted Irish priest, and Geoffrey, a local Jersey farmer. When a German woman comes looking for details of her own heritage in 1985, a chain of events is set off whereby Dora, Joe and Geoffrey have to confront and reconcile themselves with memories of the past.

The story tells the good times and the horrific times the characters, and indeed Islanders generally, experienced during the war. It is very well researched and I could imagine, and was familiar with, a lot of the Jersey locations mentioned at that time during the occupation.

I really enjoyed this story. It is a slow burner and not too many details are given away throughout the book, only hinted at. If you are a fan of The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society or indeed 20th century historical fiction, then this book will appeal to you. It is a deeply human story and it evokes a great empathy in the reader for the as it tells of everyday life at the hands of the Nazis on the Island.

This book is simply incredible and one of my favourite reads so far this year.

Dora, Geoffrey and Joe are quietly living their lives in retirement when a young German woman called Barbara Hummel comes along asking searching questions and looking for answers. None of them want to go back to their pasts and relive the horror of living in Jersey during the Second World War and the German occupation of the Island. But Barbara is adamant she must know who the mystery woman is in a photo she discovered in her late mother's possessions and will not take no for an answer...

Dora is not whom she seems and must be careful around the Germans. She's working as a midwife and starts a love affair with Geoffrey, the farmer who she's told to stay away from. Joe is the parish's Catholic priest who has secrets from his past and in the current day. They are caught up in atrocities of war which made for disturbing reading (as the story is based on things which happened to real people during WW2) but they manage to come out the other side a little bit broken but still alive.

The story jumps between the past and the present. I was desperate to find Barbara's connection with their stories which are interwoven together. An absolutely stunning must-read. I so loved it.

Call me naive or even ignorant but it had never occurred to me that the Nazis sex trafficked during World War II. This, along with the brutality of living in concentration camps and how war can shape and change lives and communities is vividly explored in The Hidden. Yes, at times it is a painful read but it is also such a brilliant read, brimming with humanity and emotion.

Set in Jersey, The Hidden is the story of Dora, a Jewish refugee desperately trying to conceal her true identity when the island is occupied by the Germans during World War II. Although she doesn’t realise it, Dora’s wartime experience is entwined with Joe’s, a young Irish priest also living on the occupied island.

Both Dora and Joe physically survive the brutality of the war. But when a young woman comes knocking at their doors over 40 years later, deep emotional scars are ripped open for both of them.

Inspired by horrific true events and real people, The Hidden is such a skillfully crafted novel portraying the power of silence and guilt. Thank you NetGalley and Point Blank for my advance copy.

Published on 7 February 2019, The Hidden is an unbelievable read that you can’t afford to miss.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found the story powerful and thought provoking. I would definitely recommend this book to those interested in this location and period of history.

The story involves Dora, a German Jew who is trying to keep her religion a secret so pretending to be a Swedish Aryan. Joe, a Catholic Priest and ex boxing champion and Geoffrey, a farmer. The backdrop is WW2 interspersed with scenes in the 1980s, all taking place in the Channel Islands.

The book is well researched, and whilst the characters and plot are fictional, the stories are based on various people living at the time, and their stories -amalgamated and embellished for literary effect.

Definitely one to read.

Dora lives a quiet life in London where no one knows her past. In the Channel Islands live Geoffrey and Joe on a quiet farm. All are living out their retirement years giving as little thought as possible to the past. Enter Barbara Hummel. A German woman who seems determined to discover the stories of the Occupation of the Channel Islands. The past becomes disturbed and Dora, Joe & Geoffrey must face the past - the terrible times & the better ones.

I have previously read books on the occupation of the Channel Islands - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society springs to mind. This book takes the story a little deeper. There are some terribly dark times for the people in the story, especially Dora, during the war. In places it was quite difficult to read. The standard of research was high and the book detailed.

Dora, Joe and Geoffrey are caught up in a whirl of events which they thought they had some control of but which disappeared rapidly. Dora was of German Jewish descent but claimed to be Swedish. This was accepted and she seemed quite happy (as the circumstances allowed) as a midwife and also seeing Geoffrey. Joe was a doubting Irish Priest who taught young boys boxing and took a German occupying nurse birdwatching. Unfortunately, they became part of a bigger plan which tore them apart and which they only fully began to understand when Barbara appears on the scene. I can't explain more as I am avoiding spoliers - I suggest you read it yourself!

This was a well written book with three dimensional characters. The author pulled no punches in her descriptions and the book was better because of that. I am glad that I read it.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Past and present meet in this thriller set in Nasi occupied Jersey and more modern day that times.

A Jewish Girl having to hide her identity and Catholic Priest with a secret. Love, loss, secrets and horror abound.

If you like Kate Morton, you'll like this although it's a bit more gritty and hard hitting.

Amazing, not what i expected and not something I'd ever thought about but this is an eye opening thriller based on a history many would never realise existed. Most know that the channel Islands were occupied for most of the war by the Nazis but let Dora and Joe tell you the story which is so well researched and written even if it can be more harrowing then your average Thriller. Life can be much worse than fiction and the twist turns and treatment by humans on humans will have you enthralled and hooked but mainly just horrified.
The story is set in 1985 and a lady is trying to find the truth of her history which brings Dora a Aryan Jew who lived in Jersey in the War and was a Midwife who feel in love with a farmer. Plus Joe a former Irish boxing champion turned Priest also living in Jersey during the war. Events as they say linked these 2 together even if they never really knew each other in the war but they both knew the farmer and it is the death of the farmers daughter that starts the string of "events" that will change their lives forever. However to find out what happened you really need to read yourself, and once you have started you will not regret finding out. War produces many hero's, villains in films but in real life it is more victims yet the lines can be very confusing deepening on were you view them from. But in the end everyone is a victim in one way or another but it's story behind the individual that decides the title hero, Villan, surviver, wether others see it or know it, facts are the only truth. And to make sense of that all i can say is please read this book because it can change how you view others. If you only believe what you see then you may miss the true person in front of you.
I want to thank Mary Chamberlain for opening my eyes and NetGalley for my copy of this book.