Books like 'Prague Spring'
Readers who enjoyed Prague Spring by Simon Mawer also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century europe western-central-europe czechia urban historical-fiction cold-war espionage politics
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A Feather on the Water by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor three women in postwar Germany, 1945 is a time of hope—lost and found—in this powerful novel by the bestselling author of The Woman on the Orient Express.Just weeks after World War II ends, three women from different corners of the world arrive in Germany to run a displaced-persons camp... -
Red Winter by Marc Cameron
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this previously untold adventure, a young Jack Ryan goes behind the Iron Curtain to seek the truth about a potential Soviet defector in the most shocking entry in Tom Clancy's #1 New York Times bestselling series. 1985A top secret F117 aircraft crashes into the Nevada desert... -
The Girl from Berlin by Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThey sat together on the roof, watching Berlin burn, as traces of smoke and cloud floated through the air. “I just want to be free,” Rosa said quietly, “Even if only for a few minutes. It might be the last chance I have.”Berlin, 1936: From her beautiful new home a young woman named Liesel Scholz barely notices the changes to the city around her...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe urban historical-fiction politics literary-fiction germany ww2 -
Two Brothers by Ben Elton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTwo Brothers is a heartrending story of two boys growing up under the darkening shadow of the Nazis. Born in Berlin in 1920 and raised by the same parents, one boy is Jewish, his adopted brother is Aryan. At first, their origins are irrelevant. But as the political landscape changes they are forced to make decisions with horrifying consequences... -
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Queens' Play by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSecond in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Queens' Play follows Francis Crawford of Lymond who has been abruptly called into the service of Mary Queen of Scots. Though she is only a little girl, the Queen is already the object of malicious intrigues that extend from her native country to the court of France... -
The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsParis, 1940: He pressed the tattered book into her hands. ‘You must go to the café and ask at the counter for Pierre Duras. Tell him that I sent you. Tell him you’re there to save the people of France...Categorized as:
espionage historical-fiction literary-fiction political-intrigue 20th-century adult audiobook book -
The Berets by W.E.B. Griffin, Eric G. Dove
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThey were the chosen ones—and the ones who chose to be the best. Never before had the United States given so select a group of fighting men such punishing preparation... -
An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWalking through Montmartre that morning was like the eerie calm right before a storm. The roads were deserted. We carried on, arm in arm, and then finally, we saw them. Columns and columns of soldiers, spreading through the streets like a toxic grey vapour. ‘You must write about this,’ he whispered to me. ‘You must write about the day freedom left Paris...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe urban historical-fiction literary-fiction france ww2 fiction -
The One Man by Andrew Gross
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratings1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendl is separated from his family and sent to the men’s camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life’s work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge... -
Kinfolk by Pearl S. Buck
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKinfolk is the story of a Chinese family. Dr. Liang moves to America in search of a better life, but his children long to return to China. Each responds to their new life in China differently, providing rich insight into the struggles between Eastern and Western culture, and the differences between generations...Categorized as:
historical-fiction politics literary-fiction fiction classics historical family 20th-century -
Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the author of The Last Rose of Shanghai comes a profoundly moving novel based on the true story of a diplomat and his wife who risked their lives to help Viennese Jews escape the Nazis.1938. Dr. Ho Fengshan, consul general of China, is posted in Vienna with his American wife, Grace...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe urban historical-fiction literary-fiction austria china fiction -
A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLibrarian note: Alternate cover edition of: 9780976395096Set on the eve of World War II, A Mind at Peace captures the anxieties of a Turkish family facing the difficult reality entrenched in the early republic, founded on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in 1923...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century adult book classics fiction -
The Maid's Secret by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCzechoslovakia, 1942: “Please don’t take him,” I plead to the Nazis.“I love you, Mila,” Ben says, hoarsely. “So much. Forever.”“Ben!” I shout as the soldiers pull him away, my heart thudding. “I love you. Please, come back.” I’m screaming at the top of my lungs as the world turns black around me.In the mountains of Bohemia, Mila, a Romani, works as a maid for an aristocratic Jewish family...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe historical-fiction literary-fiction war historical ww2 fiction -
Strangers in Venice by A.W. Hartoin
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNovember, 1938 It began in Vienna, after a night of fire and fear. Stella Bled Lawrence made a promise and she kept it. But the job isn’t done. Abel Hershmann’s cousins, unaware of the danger, are heading to Venice in search of him and the family secret he carried. Stella and her husband, Nicky, follow, intent on warning them. But things don’t go to plan...Categorized as:
historical-fiction espionage political-intrigue ww2 fiction historical family 20th-century -
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End of Spies by Alex Gerlis, Rupert Bush
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEurope, 1945: no longer at war but not yet at peace. The gripping finale to the bestselling Richard Prince espionage thrillers.British agent Richard Prince and the Danish spy Hanne Jakobsen come together for a vital mission: to find a Nazi war criminal responsible for the murder of fellow British agents... -
The Smallest Crack by Roberta Kagan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1933 Berlin, GermanyWhen the price for life is dishonor dipped in blood, how much is too much?Eli Kaetzel and his beautiful but timid wife Rebecca suddenly find themselves in the gaping maws of Adolf Hitler's murderous rampage. Eli knows that their only chance, however slim, for survival may lie in the hands of Gretchen, a spirited Aryan girl...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe urban historical-fiction literary-fiction germany ww2 fiction -
Ofrene by Gerald Green
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGerald Green's novel Holocaust, which is based on his teleplay for the 1978 NBC miniseries, seeks to put faces on the tragedy by telling the story of the experience of two German families whose lives intersect at certain points...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction urban western-central-europe 20th-century adult book -
The Seventh Floor by David McCloskey
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSix CIA officers. Dear friends and cherished enemies. For a quarter century they have stolen other people’s secrets. Now they must steal each other’s.A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, operational chief Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat for the disaster and run out of the service... -
Conspiracy of Lies by Kathryn Gauci
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the author of The Embroiderer comes a powerful account of one woman's struggle to balance her duty to her country and a love she knows will ultimately end in tragedy. 1940. With the Germans about to enter Paris, Claire Bouchard flees France for England. Two years later she is recruited by the Special Operations Executive and sent back into occupied France to work alongside the Resistance...Categorized as:
espionage historical-fiction literary-fiction political-intrigue 20th-century adult book fiction -
Mendelevski's Box by Roger Swindells
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe survived Auschwitz but now Simon Mendelevski has to find out who betrayed his family September 1945. Auschwitz survivor Simon Mendelevski, penniless and unkempt, returns to Amsterdam in a desperate search for his family, friends and neighbours. Simon meets two Dutch women, both of whom have also suffered... -
The Wife Who Risked Everything by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBerlin, 1943: “Where’s your husband?” the SS man demanded.“There’s no one home,” Margot said before they started tearing the place apart. “I’m alone here.” In his eyes was nothing but ice and death, and it occurred to Margot that only she stood between her husband and the soldier’s machine gun.In Nazi Germany, Margot refuses to buckle under the weight of Hitler’s tyranny...Categorized as:
espionage historical-fiction literary-fiction political-intrigue politics 20th-century adult book -
Night Flight to Paris by David Gilman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings'Page-turning and gritty' DAILY MAIL. It is 1943 and for agents of the Special Operations Executive, a mission to Nazi-occupied Paris is a death sentence. So why has unlikely spy Harry Mitchell volunteered to return to the city he fled two years ago? The French capital is at war with itself... -
1921: The Great Novel of the Irish Civil War by Morgan Llywelyn
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Irish fight for independence is one of the most captivating tales of the twentieth century. Morgan Llywelyn, the acclaimed historical writer of books like Lion of Ireland, Bard and The Horse Goddess , is the writer born to bring this epic battle to life...Categorized as:
historical-fiction politics literary-fiction fiction historical war 20th-century audiobook -
The Girl from Vichy by Andie Newton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe's done running. Now she fights. 1942, occupied France.With the war raging in Europe, Adèle Ambeh dreams of a France that is free from the clutches of the Nazis. As the date of her marriage to a ruthless man draws closer, she only has one choice: she must run.Adèle flees to Lyon and seeks refuge at the Sisters of Notre Dame de la Compassion...Categorized as:
espionage historical-fiction literary-fiction political-intrigue 20th-century adult book fiction -
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Missing Soluch by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPerhaps the most important work in modern Iranian literature, this starkly beautiful novel examines the trials of an impoverished woman and her children living in a remote village in Iran, after the unexplained disappearance of her husband, Soluch.Lyrical yet unsparing, the novel examines her life as she contends with the political corruption, authoritarianism, and poverty of the village...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century adult audiobook book fiction -
London Match by Len Deighton
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith treason epidemic in London Central, a cloud of suspicion passes over each senior agent, and each falls helplessly into Moscow Centre's brilliant, complex trap. As LONDON MATCH rushes toward its amazing climax, the ultimate, decisive confrontation is about to take place--between Samson and the British KGB agent who, from the very beginning, has held Samson's entire life in delicate balance...Categorized as:
cold-war espionage europe historical-fiction political-intrigue urban 20th-century action-adventure -
The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Exiles conjures her best novel yet, a pre-World War II-era story with the emotional resonance of Orphan Train and All the Light We Cannot See, centering on the Kindertransports that carried thousands of children out of Nazi-occupied Europe—and one brave woman who helped them escape to safety...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction politics urban western-central-europe 20th-century adult -
The Boy in the Attic by Imogen Matthews
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAnna opened the letter with trembling hands. ‘My darling, if you’re reading this, I haven’t managed to unravel my parents’ secret. But you can. Will you finish the search for me, find out who they were, and who you really are?’Nazi-occupied Holland, 1944. As soldiers patrol the streets, nursing student Ilse is only just surviving the terrible famine and increasingly violent German occupation...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction western-central-europe 20th-century adult book fiction -
This Is How It Begins by Joan Dempsey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“In a time when religious liberty is on trial, This Is How It Begins is an extraordinarily pertinent novel dripping in suspense and powerful scenes of political discourse . . . a must read . . .” —Foreword (starred review)A woman bearing a thorny secret. A man fighting for religious freedom. A battle neither saw coming. Massachusetts, 2009. Ludka Zeilonka is relishing her emeritus status... -
Hope by Len Deighton
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMaster spy Bernard Samson is back and in top form once again in bestselling author Len Deighton's new thriller trilogy.As the Berlin Wall Begins to crumble, Bernard Samson is caught up in an ever - changing situation and the devious squabbles that infest the service...Categorized as:
cold-war espionage historical-fiction political-intrigue 20th-century adult audiobook book -
Winter Work: A novel by Dan Fesperman
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn exhilarating spy thriller inspired by a true story about the precious secrets up for grabs just after the fall of the Berlin Wall--from the acclaimed author of The Cover Wife On a chilly early morning walk on the wooded outskirts of Berlin, Emil Grimm finds the body of his neighbor, a fellow Stasi officer named Lothar, with a gunshot wound to the temple and a pistol in his right hand...Categorized as:
historical-fiction espionage cold-war politics political-intrigue fiction mystery suspense -
Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the dawn of the twentieth century to the devastation of World War II, this exhilarating novel of love, war, art, and family gives voice to two extraordinary women and brings to life the true story behind the creation and near destruction of Gustav Klimt’s most remarkable paintings... -
Stettin Station by David Downing
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the fall of 1941, Anglo-American journalist John Russell is still living in Berlin, tied to the increasingly alien city by his love for two Berliners: his fourteen-year-old son, Paul, and his longtime girlfriend, Effi. Forced to work for both German and American Intelligence, he's searching for a way out of Germany... -
Potsdam Station by David Downing
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsApril, 1945. The Third Reich is on the verge of extinction, and its enemies are already plotting against each other. For John Russell, this has personal importance: his son and girlfriend are trapped in Berlin and only the Soviets can get him in there. But the price of their help will threaten both his and the world's postwar future... -
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News from the Empire by Fernando del Paso
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne of the acknowledged masterpieces of Mexican literature, Fernando del Paso's News from the Empire is a powerful and encyclopedic novel of the tragic lives of Maximilian and his wife, Carlota, the short-lived Emperor and Empress of Mexico...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics fiction historical 20th-century book adult -
The Kobra Manifesto by Adam Hall
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Yugoslavian plane crashes in the south of France; a fuel tanker explodes at Rome airport, a British diplomat is shot dead in Phnom Penh. In each case Quiller, Adam Hall's relentless British agent witnesses the violence as he pursues a fanatical terrorist group known as Kobra.THE KOBRA MANIFESTO is the seventh of Adam Hall's highly acclaimed series of Quiller novels... -
The Emperor's General (4 Cassettes) by James Webb, David Dukes
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1997. Jay Marsh, Wall Street millionaire and grand old man of the diplomatic corps, takes a sentimental journey to the scene of his first triumphs and agonies, Manila, where as a brash young captain during World War II he served as aide-de-camp and confidant to General Douglas MacArthur. Marsh sees beyond the glittery capital of today to the horrifying days of 1945...Categorized as:
espionage historical-fiction literary-fiction political-intrigue politics 20th-century adult book -
The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsO'Connor's 1956 account of big-city politics, inspired by the career of longtime Boston Mayor James M. Curley, portrays its Irish-American political boss as a demagogue and a rogue who nonetheless deeply understands his constituents. The book was later made into a John Ford film staring Spencer Tracy... -
Mendelssohn is on the Roof by Jiří Weil
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOn the roof of Prague's concert hall, Julius Schlesinger, aspiring SS officer, is charged with the removal of the statue of the Jew Mendelssohn--but which one is he? Remembering his course on "racial science," Schlesinger instructs his men to pull down the statue with the biggest nose. Only as the statue topples does he recognize the face of Richard Wagner...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe czechia urban historical-fiction literary-fiction fiction war -
Charity by Len Deighton
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor Bernard Samson, the end is near.In the concluding volume of Len Deighton's superb trilogy that began with Faith and Hope, Bernard Samson continues to peel away the mystery surrounding the cold-blooded murder of his sister-in-law, Tessa, on the streets of Berlin...Categorized as:
cold-war espionage historical-fiction political-intrigue 20th-century adult audiobook book -
Where the Air Is Clear by Carlos Fuentes
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Where the Air Is Clear," Carlos Fuentes's first novel, is an unsparing portrayal of Mexico City's upper class. Departing from a traditional linear narrative, Fuentes overlays Mexican myths onto contemporary settings, showing that even the rich and powerful must succumb to the indomitable spirit of Mexico, which undermines all institutions and shapes all destinies...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics 20th-century adult book classics fiction -
The Swiss Spy by Alex Gerlis
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"On the 20-minute drive to Lutry, the Alps rose high to his left, the lake sweeping below him to the right. That summed it up, he thought: caught between two powerful forces. Not unlike serving two masters... -
The War Girls by V.S. Alexander
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPerfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Kristin Harmel, and Pam Jenoff, this new historical fiction novel from an acclaimed author is based on true WWII stories of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Occupation and the women who served the Allies as agents and spies...Categorized as:
historical-fiction espionage literary-fiction political-intrigue fiction ww2 historical war -
The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLegendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style--the iconic little black dress--and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5. Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors...Categorized as:
espionage historical-fiction political-intrigue politics 20th-century adult audiobook book -
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Spy Sinker by Len Deighton
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSpy Sinker is a 1990 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the final novel in the second of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Spy Sinker is part of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, being preceded by Spy Hook and Spy Line... -
Top Secret by W.E.B. Griffin, William E. Butterworth IV
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the #1 New York Times�bestselling author, a brand-new series about the Cold War—and a different breed of warrior. In the first weeks after World War II, a squeaky-clean new second lieutenant named James D. Cronley Jr. is spotted and recruited for a new enterprise that will eventually be transformed into something called the CIA... -
Spy Line by Len Deighton
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBritish agent Bernard Samson finds himself inexplicably hunted as a traitor, forced to abandon his life, his job, his position, and plunge into hiding in the most dangerous and darkest corner of Berlin. What is happening? What has he done? Nothing makes sense until Samson discovers that the Secret Service has known all along where he is. In fact, they have never taken him off the payroll... -
Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin by Leon Uris
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn Berlin at the end of World War II, an American Army officer bears witness to the aftermath of one historic tragedy and the rise of another. Captain Sean O'Sullivan distinguishes himself as a courageous soldier in the closing days of World War II, but what comes next tests his deepest reserves of strength and conviction...Categorized as:
cold-war espionage historical-fiction literary-fiction political-intrigue 20th-century adult book -
The 14th Colony by Steve Berry
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain—in fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos...Categorized as:
cold-war espionage europe historical-fiction political-intrigue politics urban 20th-century -
Gruppenführer's Mistress by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Gruppenführer’s Mistress" is book two in the series “The Girl from Berlin,” which continues to follow Annalise’s story...
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