Books like The Song at at the Scaffold by Gertrud von le Fort

During World War II, a foster girl in Nazi Germany steals books to share with neighbors and a hidden Jewish man, proving literature’s power to nourish the soul amid darkness.

A 1930s wartime tale of a blind French girl and a German boy whose lives intersect in occupied France, weaving themes of survival, friendship, and the moral choices people make amid World War II.

In 1935 England, a young woman’s allegation of a crime sets off a chain of events that devastates families, alters lives during the Second World War, and echoes into a later life of remorse and reflection.

Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

A poignant and intimate historical novel set during World War II, Suite française by Irène Némirovsky vividly depicts the desperate situation of a war-torn France.

The idea that Christianity started as a clandestine movement among the poor is a widely accepted notion. Yet it is one of many myths that must be discarded if we are to understand just how a tiny messianic movement on the edge of the Roman Empire became the dominant faith of Western civilization. In a fast-paced, highly readable book that addresses beliefs as well as historical facts, Rodney Stark brings a sociologist's perspective to bear on the puzzle behind the success of early Christianity. He comes equipped not only with the logic and methods of social science but also with insights gathered firsthand into why people convert and how new religious groups recruit members. He digs deep into the historical evidence on many issues - such as the social background of converts, the mission to the Jews, the status of women in the church, the role of martyrdom - to provide a vivid and unconventional picture of early Christianity.

David Ebershoff’s debut novel follows Danish painter Einar Wegener as he navigates love, identity, and gender transition during the early twentieth century.

Set in 1942 Hong Kong, *The Piano Teacher* follows the forbidden love of Englishman Will Truesdale and Eurasianness Trudy Liang amid war. Decades later, teacher Claire Pendleton’s affair with Will forces her to confront a violent past and the cost of survival.

A sweeping love story that spans Budapest and Paris, following three Jewish brothers whose lives are reshaped by World War II and the desperate strife of family.