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‘Meticulously researched and emotionally resonant, Fables & Lies is sure to delight readers who love a hearty feast of history in their fiction’
Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night

Fables & Lies: A World War II Novel

Fables & Lies

A World War II Novel

Under a brutal regime, what price must be paid to preserve truth, treasure and love in a world built on lies?

WWII Berlin. Freyja Bremer, a patriotic museum assistant, marries Kaspar Voigt, an ambitious SS scholar, to protect her father. Yet she is unaware her husband is instrumental in Himmler’s twisted quest for Aryan supremacy.

As she strives to safeguard the priceless Priam’s Treasure from air raids, Freyja falls in love with Darien Lessing, an archaeologist who exposes the moral decay beneath the Regime’s myths. Her awakening drives her into perilous resistance — aiding a Jewish doctor and his wife, Darien’s sister — while uncovering Kaspar’s role in the SS’s darkest programs, which subvert history to justify invasion, abduction and murder.

As Berlin collapses into chaos and bloodshed, Freyja, caught between duty, deception and desire, must risk everything to preserve truth in a world built on lies.

A heartbreaking yet triumphant love story, Fables & Lies shines light on lesser-known aspects of the Nazi Regime. It gives voice to the complex moral struggles of German women, the forgotten resistance of Gentiles married to Jews, the dangers of contested history, the evils of Himmler’s racial studies program and the unsung bravery of German museum curators who saved their nation’s treasures.

A must for readers who love emotional, thought-provoking WWII historical fiction, Fables & Lies explores the complexities of survival, resistance, impossible choices and moral conflict while featuring thwarted love, dark family secrets and a journey to enlightenment. If you love WWII fiction about stolen art, then Fables & Lies is for you. Perfect for fans of Kelly Rimmer, Laura Morelli and Anthony Doer.

Fables & Lies is available in digital, paperback and audio editions.

NOTE: Australian readers will find the best deal (and delivery times) on the paperback at Booktopia, Angus & Robertson, Sanity, or Amazon Australia.

Fables & Lies Reviews

Kate Forsyth
Kate ForsythAuthor of Bitter Greens
‘A powerful and heartbreaking story set in war-torn Berlin, Fables & Lies charts the slow dawning horror of a young woman as she realises all she has been taught about Hitler and the Third Reich is a lie. Impeccably researched and sensitively rendered, Elisabeth Storrs has shone a light on little-known aspects of life in Germany under the Nazi regime.’
Olivia Hawker
Olivia Hawkerbestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night
A harrowing story of a young woman caught in the machinations of the Third Reich and in the web of a regime-compliant family. The novel is meticulously researched and emotionally resonant, sure to delight readers who love a hearty feast of history in their fiction.
Leah Kaminsky
Leah KaminskyAuthor, The Hollow Bones
A chilling and meticulously researched journey into the shadow world of the Ahnenerbe. Blending historical rigor with gripping fiction, Fables & Lies reminds us of the devastating consequences when history is twisted to serve power.’
Suzanne Leal
Suzanne LealAuthor, The Deceptions
Fables & Lies is a compelling study of Nazi ideology, seen through the eyes of one German family who, in the wake of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, becomes hopelessly divided by politics, ambition and fear. Elisabeth Storrs paints a vivid and captivating picture of two sisters, one a Nazi fanatic, the other beset by doubts and a dawning recognition of the true horror of the regime she once supported.
Nicole Alexander
Nicole AlexanderAuthor, The Limestone Road
Written from the little explored German viewpoint Fables & Lies is a gripping account of the quest to save the world’s great antiquities during WW2 and an ode to those women and men who risked all for freedom. A beautifully written novel. I’ve never read anything like it.
Alison Morton
Alison MortonAuthor, Roma Nova series
Elisabeth Storrs has indeed broken the mould by writing a detailed Second World War epic ‘from the other side’. Evocative, detailed and heart-rending as the heroine journeys through disillusion and danger in the Third Reich.
Judith Starkson
Judith StarksonAuthor, Hand of Fire
‘Storrs has written an engaging and monumentally important novel for our time with the pairing of the mysterious fate of Priam’s Treasure with one woman’s journey as she overcomes the political manipulations of fascism and takes action.’
Lauren Chater
Lauren ChaterAuthor, The Lace Weaver
Fables & Lies is a powerful reminder that history is never neutral. With her trademark insight, Elisabeth Storrs explores how myth can be twisted into the ultimate weapon — and how courage can be found in the quietest acts of defiance.
David Whish-Wilson
David Whish-WilsonAuthor, The Summons
‘Fables & Lies is a brilliant work of historical fiction. The writing is flawless, the characters incredibly well-drawn, and the detailed research is deftly embedded in a narrative that charts the way dangerous ideological obsessions become enmeshed within both the minutiae of academic practice and the blunt forces of government policy – a novel very much for our times.’
Sarah Johnson
Sarah JohnsonReviews Editor, Historical Novels Review
"Emotionally involving and morally complex, FABLES & LIES is… a gripping deep dive into Freyja's viewpoint as she gradually penetrates the fog of propaganda instilled into Germans for years by the cruel Nazi regime and awakens to a new and courageous purpose, one that involves considerable risk... I haven't read another WWII novel like it."
MK Tod
MK TodA Writer of History blog
"I had the privilege of reading Fables & Lies and can report that it is both an excellent story as well as a unique and compelling perspective on World War Two, including the power of propaganda."
Ann Skea
Ann SkeaNewtown Review of Books
This is not a simple love story... Freyja is a likeable character, and Elisabeth Storrs lets the reader feel her love, disillusionment, fear and determination..to question, and to have to make decisions balancing principles and danger....The book offers much food for thought.