{"product_id":"the-traitors-circle-the-instant-sunday-times-bestseller-9781399813693","title":"The Traitors Circle: THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA thrilling true story of courage, resistance and ultimately betrayal in the Third Reich captured by internationally bestselling author and prize-winning journalist Jonathan Freedland.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhen the whole world is lying, someone must tell the truth.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e Berlin, 1943. \u003c\/b\u003eA group of high-society anti-Nazi dissenters meet for a tea party one late summer afternoon. They do not know that, sitting around the table, is someone poised to betray them all to the Gestapo - revealing their secret to the Nazis' most ruthless detective.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e They form a circle of unlikely rebels, drawn from the German elite: two countesses, a diplomat, an intelligence officer, an ambassador's widow and a pioneering headmistress. Meeting in the shadows, rescuing Jews or plotting for a future Germany freed from the Fuhrer's rule, what unites them is a shared loathing of the Nazis, a refusal to bow to Hitler and the courage to perform perilous acts of resistance. Or so they believe.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e How did a group of brave, principled rebels, who had successfully defied Adolf Hitler for more than a decade, come to fall into such a lethal trap? And who betrayed them?\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Undone from within and pursued to near-destruction by one of the Reich's cruellest men, they showed a heroism that raises a question with new urgency for our time: what kind of person does it take to risk everything and stand up to tyranny?\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eTHE ESCAPE ARTIST\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Thrilling' Daily Mail\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Gripping' Guardian\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Heartwrenching' Yuval Noah Harari\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Magnificent' Philip Pullman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Excellent' Sunday Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Inspiring' Daily Mail\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An immediate classic' Antony Beevor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Awe inspiring' Simon Sebag Montefiore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Shattering' Simon Schama\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Utterly compelling' Philippe Sands\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A must-read' Emily Maitlis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Indispensable' Howard Jacobson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781399813693\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 480\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 15 Sep 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: John Murray Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x12.8(L)x4.2(W)354\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 354\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eJonathan Freedland is a \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e columnist and former foreign correspondent. He has been named Columnist of the Year and Commentator of the Year and has won an Orwell Prize for Journalism. He is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's contemporary history series, \u003ci\u003eThe Long View\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as two popular podcasts, \u003ci\u003ePolitics Weekly America \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eUnholy\u003c\/i\u003e, the latter alongside the journalist Yonit Levi. This is his fourth work of non-fiction, the most recent of which is the award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World. \u003c\/i\u003eHe has written nine thrillers, eight of them under the name Sam Bourne, including \u003ci\u003eThe Righteous Men\u003c\/i\u003e which was a \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e number one bestseller and has sold over two million copies worldwide.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cb\u003eHaunting and heart-poundingly suspenseful\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e- an \u003cb\u003eextraordinary\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eexploration of moral courage in a world overwhelmed by Nazi darkness. Freedland's passionate narrative takes us into secret and sometimes surprising corners of Hitler's Germany. In those shadows of vicious totalitarianism and betrayal - and facing the abyss of the Holocaust - is a circle of friends who embody unwavering human decency and faith and love. \u003cb\u003eFreedland's powerful story-telling has intense resonance in today's darkening world. The moral questions are eternal\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sinclair McKay, bestselling author of DRESDEN\u003cbr\u003eA story of unlikely rebels who had much to lose from resisting the Nazi regime, which so many of their peers supported. What made them trade personal safety for moral rectitude?\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eFreedland's answer is as tense as a thriller yet perceptive, thoughtful and thoroughly researched. It made me think long after I'd turned the last page\u003c\/b\u003e -- Katja Hoyer, bestselling author of BEYOND THE WALL\u003cbr\u003eWritten like a novel, this tale of heroism, camaraderie, betrayal and tragedy will leave a lasting impression. It is \u003cb\u003ea salutary reminder that history can inspire, even in the darkest of times\u003c\/b\u003e -- JOHN BEW, bestselling author of CITIZEN CLEM\u003cbr\u003eAn\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eastonishing \u003c\/b\u003etrue story of courage, love and betrayal, \u003cb\u003etold with the verve of a thriller\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eFreedland is a master \u003c\/b\u003eat weaving spellbinding entertainments drawn from forgotten corners of history -- Mick Herron\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Traitors Circle\u003c\/i\u003e rivals Freedland's superb \u003ci\u003eThe Escape Artist\u003c\/i\u003e. A \u003cb\u003erevelatory \u003c\/b\u003eaccount of heroism and treachery in Nazi Germany, it based on original research and\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ereads like a thriller\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eTotally gripping and timely\u003c\/b\u003e -- Jonathan Dimbleby\u003cbr\u003eThough every word is true, \u003cb\u003ethis remarkable book reads like a novel\u003c\/b\u003e. Part thriller, part adventure story, part Holocaust history, it is a searing memorial to the half-million Germans who died opposing Hitler, as well as the six million Jews he killed. \u003cb\u003eThe narrative style is gripping; the morality searing. This is how the best history books will be written in the future\u003c\/b\u003e -- Andrew Roberts, author of CHURCHILL: WALKING WITH DESTINY\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Traitors Circle\u003c\/i\u003e is not only a\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ethrilling, humane, and deeply moving\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eaccount of heroism, espionage, and betrayal in the Third Reich - it is\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ethe best sort of history\u003c\/b\u003e, one whose rich characters breathe life and perspective into our present circumstance. \u003cb\u003eHaunting, and not to be missed\u003c\/b\u003e -- David McCloskey, author of DAMASCUS STATION\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGripping, chilling, inspiring\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e - Jonathan \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eFreedland has a unique gift \u003c\/b\u003efor exploring history's most profound questions with the urgency of a news reporter and the stylistic flair of a great novelist -- Rafael Behr\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eExcellent\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Freedland tells a\u003cb\u003e gripping \u003c\/b\u003estory but also asks a\u003cb\u003e timely \u003c\/b\u003equestion: Why do some people collaborate? Why do others fight tyrants? \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Traitors Circle\u003c\/i\u003e is both history and parable, perfect reading for this moment\u003c\/b\u003e -- Anne Applebaum, bestselling author of AUTOCRACY INC.\u003cbr\u003eFreedland has an uncanny ability to combine \u003cb\u003edeep historical research with the pace and tension of a thriller\u003c\/b\u003e. Told through the eyes of masterfully-detailed characters, this tale reminds us that tyranny, treachery and bravery go hand in hand -- John Kampfner, bestselling author of IN SEARCH OF BERLIN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpectacular\u003c\/b\u003e. The compelling true story of raw human courage in the face of the ultimate evil. \u003cb\u003eA page-turning, heartbreaker of a book\u003c\/b\u003e -- Tony Parsons, bestselling author of THE MURDER BAG\u003cbr\u003eFreedland's done it again. \u003cb\u003eThrilling, moving and inspiring\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Traitors Circle\u003c\/i\u003e is a \u003cb\u003ebrilliant \u003c\/b\u003eSecond World War history book, \u003cb\u003eas exciting as a novel and filled with extraordinary characters\u003c\/b\u003e - some heroic and some evil - that is also both a portrait of courage, humanity and resistance against Nazi tyranny and\u003cb\u003e a twisting tale of conspiracy and espionage\u003c\/b\u003e -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, bestselling author of THE WORLD: A FAMILY HISTORY\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUtterly gripping, brilliantly researched and written\u003c\/b\u003e -- Anthony Horowitz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFreedland's account of the fall of the Solf Circle is structured like a thriller and\u003cbr\u003edemonstrates his mastery of his material . . . \u003cb\u003eMagnificent\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Important and impressive\u003c\/p\u003e -- Daily Telegraph\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003ecompelling\u003c\/b\u003e yarn about people whose achievement may have been limited, but whose courage was that of giants -- Max Hastings, Sunday Times\u003cbr\u003eFreedland displays the forensic skills of a detective, allied to the penmanship of a thriller writer . . . \u003cb\u003eA fascinating story of bravery and morality against overwhelming odds\u003c\/b\u003e -- Irish Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGripping and terrifying\u003c\/b\u003e -- Ian Hislop\u003cbr\u003eA riveting story with an incredible, ensemble cast . . . \u003cb\u003eI want to urge everyone to read this book.\u003c\/b\u003e It's gripping, it's enormously entertaining  - \u003cb\u003eit's got so much to teach us\u003c\/b\u003e -- Tina Brown\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eengrossing \u003c\/b\u003enarrative . . . a \u003cb\u003espellbinding \u003c\/b\u003eaccount -- Wall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003eThe \u003cb\u003ethrilling \u003c\/b\u003estory of a group of anti-Nazi activists in wartime Berlin . . . an inquiry into how, in the direst circumstances, some people find the immense courage to do what is right -- The Economist, Books of the Year\u003cbr\u003eFreedland tells the story of Solf and her friends with the vividness of the thrillers he also writes under the name Sam Bourne. \u003cb\u003eWhat makes his account of these Germans who refused to conform so important in our own time is that it shows that even the most iniquitous regime doesn't corrupt everyone\u003c\/b\u003e -- The Spectator\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003ecompelling \u003c\/b\u003eaccount -- TLS\u003cbr\u003eConstructed like a thriller but has all the \u003cb\u003epoignancy and punch\u003c\/b\u003e of a true story -- Engelsberg\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUtterly gripping\u003c\/b\u003e - and brilliantly told -- Dominic Sandbrook","brand":"Jonathan Freedland","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48852122403033,"sku":"9781399813693","price":26.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781399813693.jpg?v=1782390654","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-traitors-circle-the-instant-sunday-times-bestseller-9781399813693","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}