Historia Magazine

The magazine of the Historical Writers Association

  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • New Books
    • TV, Film and Theatre
    • One From The Vaults
  • Latest Releases
  • Columns
    • Doctor Darwin’s Writing Tips
    • Watching History
    • Desert Island Books
  • Awards
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Historia in your inbox

The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford

24 January 2018 By Katherine Clements

Elizabeth Gifford’s debut novel, Secrets of the Sea House, was a sweeping, beautiful work, imbued with myth and mystery; it was shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown award in 2014 and was one of my personal favourites that year. Gifford is a talented writer with the ability to create satisfying stories and haunting atmosphere from small fragments of history. Since her second novel, Return to Fourwinds, I’ve been waiting to see what she does next. The Good Doctor of Warsaw represents a change – perhaps a move forward – in her work.

Beginning in Warsaw as the Second World War looms, the novel tells the story of Dr Janusz Korczak, a real life figure who ran an orphanage in what became the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw (the largest in Nazi occupied Europe, only 1% of its inhabitants survived the war). The story of Korczak’s struggle is seen through the eyes of Misha and Sophia – two young lovers determined to help Korczak and to survive the increasingly appalling conditions behind the walls.

As the Nazis begin their gradual, deliberate stranglehold on the desperate Jewish population, Korczak vows to keep the children safe. When the deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp begin, and stories about what happens there start to filter back, no one can believe that their worst fears will come true. Misha and Sophia, torn apart by events, struggle to stay alive, surviving on the hope that they’ll find their way back to each other one day.

It’s clear from a long author’s note that this is a work of deep personal meaning for Gifford. The research is meticulous. Misha and Sophia were real people, as were all who populate these pages – a fact that only serves to bring home the horror of their fate. Gifford admits that her first draft of the book was ‘too factual’ and there are moments when the cool delivery of yet another harrowing event dulls its emotional impact, but the prose is spare and not overly sentimental and in some ways more powerful for it. The truth doesn’t need embellishment. I found myself quickly pulled into the story, concerned about the fate of the main characters and frequently sickened by the very real horrors that were inflicted on innocents. A sense of dread pervades these pages. Gifford has pulled off quite a feat – even though we know the history, we, like the characters in the book, can’t quite believe the Nazis will go so far. But there is hope too, and courage and compassion – a reminder that, sometimes, it is in the most devastating circumstances that we can become our best selves.

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.

The Good Doctor of Warsaw is published on 1st February 2018.

Find out more at elisabethgifford.com.

Katherine Clements is the author of The Crimson Ribbon and The Silvered Heart and is editor of Historia Magazine. Her third novel, The Coffin Path, an eerie and compelling seventeenth-century ghost story set on the dark wilds of the Yorkshire moors, is published on 8th February 2018.

Share this article:Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: New Books, Reviews Tagged With: Elisabeth Gifford, Janusz Korczak, Second World War, The Good Doctor of Warsaw, Warsaw Ghetto, WWII

Search

Latest Releases

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

7 January 2021

The Wolf Hunt by Tim Hodkinson

7 January 2021

A Remedy In Time by Jennifer Macaire

7 January 2021

See more new releases

Let’s stay in touch

Sign up for our monthly email newsletter:

Or follow us on social media:

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

Editor’s Picks

Entrance to Auschwitz

Torn from home

27 January 2019

Was America, not Wallis, the real reason Edward VIII abdicated?

23 September 2018

Mutiny on the Bounty

10 January 2018

Popular Topics

16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 2020 Ancient Rome Anglo-Saxons author interview biography book review Catherine Hokin Competition Debut Crown Elizabeth Fremantle Emma Darwin Giveaway historical fiction Historical Writers Association history HWA HWA Crown Awards HWA Non-Fiction Crown Imogen Robertson interview Katherine Clements Matthew Harffy medieval new release paperback research review Second World War Shortlist short stories the writing life Tudors TV drama TV review Vikings World War II writing writing advice writing tips WWII

The Historical Writers’ Association

Historia Magazine is published by the Historical Writers’ Association. We are authors, publishers and agents of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction. For information about membership and profiles of our member authors, please visit our website.

Read more about Historia or find out about advertising and promotional opportunities.

ISSN 2515-2254

Recent Additions

  • Researching the Palaeolithic
  • Books to look for in 2021
  • The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

Search Historia

Contact us

If you would like to contact the editor of Historia, please email editor@historiamag.com.

Copyright © 2014–2021 The Historical Writers Association