Winnie and Wolf is the story of the extraordinary relationship between Winifred Wagner and Adolf Hitler that took place during the years 192540, as seen through the eyes of the secretary at the Wagner house in Bayreuth.
Winifred, an English girl, brought up in an orphanage in East Grinstead, married at the age of eighteen to the son of Germanys most controversial genius, is a passionate Germanophile, a Wagnerian dreamer, a Teutonic patriot.
In the debacle of the post-Versailles world, the Wagner family hope for the coming, not of a warrior, a fearless Siegfried, but of a Parsifal, a mystic idealist, a redeemer-figure. In 1925, they meet their Parsifal a wild-eyed Viennese opera-fanatic in a trilby hat, a mac and a badly fitting suit. Hitler has already made a name for himself in some sections of German society through rabble-rousing and street corner speeches. It is Winifred, though, who believes she can really see his poetry. Almost at once they drop formalities and call one another Du rather than Sie. She is Winnie and he is Wolf.
Like Winnie, Hitler was an outsider. Like her, he was haunted by the impossibility of reconciling the pursuit of love and the pursuit of power; the ultimate inevitability, if you pursued power, of destruction. Both had known the humiliations of poverty. Both felt angry and excluded by society. Both found each other in an unusual kinship that expressed itself through a love of opera.
In A.N. Wilsons most bold and ambitious novel yet, the world of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany is brilliantly recreated, and forms the backdrop to this incredible bond, which ultimately reveals the remarkable capacity of human beings to deceive themselves.
Dive into the unsettling and captivating world of *Winnie and Wolf*, A.N. Wilson's compelling novel that explores the bizarre, intimate, and ultimately destructive relationship between Winifred Wagner and Adolf Hitler. More than just a historical fiction, this is a meticulously crafted psychological study set against the turbulent backdrop of Weimar and Nazi Germany. Published in 2007 as a First Edition Hardcover by Hutchinson, with 384 pages, *Winnie and Wolf* is a reimagining of real-life events and personalities. It is available in English. ISBN-13: 9780091796761 and ISBN-10: 0091796768. The novel unfolds through the eyes of a secretary working at the Wagner family's legendary Bayreuth estate. We are introduced to Winifred Wagner, a young English orphan who marries into the Wagner dynasty and embraces German culture with fervent passion. In a nation yearning for a savior after the devastation of World War I, the Wagner family, steeped in their artistic ideals, seeks a "Parsifal" a figure of redemption. Enter Adolf Hitler, a rising political figure dismissed by many as a rabble-rouser. Yet, Winifred sees something more a poet, a visionary. The two forge an unlikely bond, bypassing formal conventions to address each other as "Winnie" and "Wolf." Their connection is forged on shared feelings of being outsiders, fuelled by a mutual love for Wagnerian opera, and the intoxicating allure of power. A.N. Wilson masterfully portrays the seductive nature of Hitler's charisma, particularly its effect on Winifred. He explores the complex dynamics of their relationship, hinting at a level of intimacy that history has often speculated about. The book delves into the allure of Hitler's vision for Germany, especially for those who felt disenfranchised and yearned for a return to national pride. However, Wilson also meticulously lays bare the dangers of such fervent belief, illustrating the self-deception that allowed individuals to overlook Hitler's increasingly sinister actions. Through vivid descriptions and insightful character portrayals, Wilson transports the reader to a Germany on the brink of catastrophe. *Winnie and Wolf* isn't merely a story of a historical oddity; it is an exploration of human nature, the intoxicating nature of power, and the perilous consequences of blind faith. It's a chilling reminder of how easily individuals and nations can be seduced by charismatic figures promising simple solutions to complex problems. Its a story about how the pursuit of power can corrupt, and about the enduring human capacity for self-delusion, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Discover the disturbing intimacy and perilous consequences in A.N. Wilson's *Winnie and Wolf*.