Good Doctor Of Warsaw, The

Description: 'You do not leave a sick child alone to face the dark and you do not leave a child at a time like this.' Warsaw, 1940. The Jewish ghetto is under the Nazis' brutal control. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children slowly starve within the walls. But while all around is darkness, one man brings hope, caring for the ever-increasing number of destitute orphans in the face of unimaginable conditions. And, torn apart as the noose tightens around the ghetto, how will one young couple's love survive the terrible tests of wartime? Half a million people lived in the Warsaw ghetto. Less than one percent survived to tell their story. This novel is based on the true story of that young couple, and on the life of one of Poland's greatest men, Dr Janusz Korczak.

Review: A moving, skilfully written historical novel * Bookseller, Editor's Choice * Enjoyment is something of a nebulous term applied to a book of this nature but for want of a better word I did enjoy this book and I'm humbled to be educated about Dr. Korczak from a book written in such an easy, accessible style. * Nudge.com * I could scarcely put it down... vivid, chilling but utterly inspiring. -- Christopher Booker * Telegraph * Written with quiet, almost heroic, determination, Elisabeth Gifford's novel fictionalises these events... The end is inevitable. It is painful to read about such wickedness and suffering. * Daily Mail * A story that should be told and retold, and Gifford's version is readable and extremely powerful. * Antonia Senior, The Times * With powerful themes of loss, hope and what it means to be human, The Good Doctor of Warsaw is a brave, moving and important book with a message we need now as much as ever. * Katherine Clements * Powerful, harrowing and ultimately uplifting. Elisabeth Gifford has achieved an extraordinary blend of fact and fiction. * Andrew Taylor *

Author Biography: Elisabeth Gifford grew up in the industrial Midlands. She studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She has written articles for The Times and the Independent and has a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford OUDCE and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway College. She is married with three children and lives in Kingston upon Thames.