That Summer in Berlin

August 22, 2022
Cornwall (The Woman at the Front) delivers a serviceable tale of intrigue during the 1936 Olympics. Viviane Alden is a spirited English lady with a camera and guts, and her leading man is gruff Tom Graham, a Scottish earl’s illegitimate son. Tom, a journalist, shares Viviane’s determination to find proof during the festivities that Germany is preparing for another war. Though Viviane is purportedly in Berlin to chaperone her debutante stepsister, who’s searching like many women of their generation for a German husband as part of Britain’s diplomacy effort, she earns Tom’s trust by sharing the story of her soldier father’s death from German mustard gas. Still, as Tom gets in deeper undercover with the Germans, he worries she might betray him, his thoughts confronting him with a “bottomless pool of intrigue and suspicion.” Just about everything here is predictable, but Cornwall does a good job making Viviane a classic heroine, capable of saving herself while still appreciating being saved, and of proving that women can work just as well as men. There’s nothing remarkable here, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

September 1, 2022
In 1936, Germany prepares to host the Olympics, and unmarried English ladies are sent to find husbands amid the spectacle. Viviane Alden's family believes she is in Berlin to find a spouse and enjoy a holiday; in actuality, she is there to spy. Under the guise of her photography, she attempts to uncover the dangerous secrets Germany is hiding while they distract the world. Author Cornwall is no stranger to writing historical fiction, and in her latest novel (after The Woman at the Front, 2021), she dives into a summer just before World War II. While stories about young female spies of the time are not rare, setting the stage slightly before the war offers a compelling perspective. Viviane and fellow spy Tom sense the growing terror in Germany, but they are surrounded by people eager to believe the facade and pretend a war is not imminent. That Summer in Berlin examines how trauma from one war can bleed into another and how courage is required to seek the truth.

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