A gripping, never-before-translated novella by the cult writer of Siblings

Kathrin – five years into a disenchanting marriage – struggles to work the farm with her sister-in-law while her husband Heinrich is away fighting for the Third Reich. To help them with the harvest, Heinrich arranges for Alexei, a Russian prisoner of war, to labour in the fields. Though initially suspicious of this watchful stranger, Kathrin is soon drawn to Alexei, with ruinous consequences.

First published in 1956, Woman in the Pillory is a formative novella by one of East Germany’s most significant writers, showcasing Brigitte Reimann’s vivid ideological engagement with the legacy of Nazi Germany and the Communist drive to create ‘a new kind of person’ following the devastation of the war.

Translated by Lucy Jones

"Heart-wrenching... What starts as a classic love story soon turns into a condemnation of the horrors of armed conflict... A sorrowfully truthful portrait of how life is ruined by war, and with it Brigitte Reimann proves she's a writer who deserves to be remembered" - Sunday Times

"The story twists and twists again, right up to the perfectly satisfying ending" - Guardian