The incredible story of how a house was witness to German history Telegraph A touching picturebook which shows children that large events can have repercussions even in small and unheralded places Wall Street Journal A beautiful picture-book adaptation of Thomas Harding's Costa-shortlisted biography for adults, exquisitely illustrated by Britta Teckentrup. On the outskirts of Berlin, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone's throw from the cottage's back door. Thomas Harding first shared this remarkable story in his Costa-shortlisted biography The House by the Lake - now he has rendered it into a deeply moving picture-book for young readers. With words that read like a haunting fairy-tale, and magnificent artwork by Britta Teckentrup, this is the astonishing true story of the house by the lake. An atmospheric and ultimately uplifting tale with delicate, ethereal images The Financial Times PRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE: A Radio 4 Book of the WeekNamed a Best Book of the Year by: >> New Statesman >> Daily Express >> Commonweal magazineShortlisted for the Costa Biography Award 2015Longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2016Over 50 five-star reviews on AmazonA passionate memoir. - Neil MacGregorA superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book. - Tom HollandA book that will stay with me for a very long time. - Rachel JoyceA superb work of social history. - The Sunday Times Diamond brilliant ... an extraordinary book. - Sunday ExpressA deft history of a cabin containing many secrets. - IndependentA fascinating window on a tumultuous period - Financial TimesOriginal, personal, moving and uplifting - Literary ReviewThis is a history that is often poignant, sometimes heartening, and never other than intimate. - SpectatorAn extraordinary book.... Harding has extracted the past from the dust that collects between floorboards and from layers of peeling wallpaper. - Washington PostSEE ALSO THOMAS HARDING'S NEW BIOGRAPHY, LEGACY:I was riveted: this is a fascinating social history. - Nigella LawsonWritten with love and imagination ... a masterclass in historical empathy. - TLSNobody quite stirs the soup of historical detail like Harding. - Express