Allen & Unwin Love and Freedom book Literary fiction English Paperback 286 pages

This is a brave book that deserves to better known. Rosemary Kavan, an Englishwoman who was married to a Czech, unforgettably portrays life in post-war Prague, from the early optimistic years, through the nightmare of the Stalinist purges up to false Prague Spring of 1968 and its aftermath. Her husband, Pavel, a devoted Communist, was a victim of the show-trials of the early 1950s. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He died in 1960 soon after his release. Branded a traitor's wife, Rosemary Kavan struggled to support herself and her two sons. She worked as a translator, a drill operator in a factory, and a tracer of blue-prints for the state railways. In the mid-1960s she became involved in the student reform movement, but the Russian invasion of 1968 drove both her sons into exile and finally she herself was forced to escape to England. 'An outstanding memoir, testifying to the courage, humanity, and indomitable spirit of the author, anyone wishing to know what life was like in Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1970 will not find a better guide.' George Theiner, Index on Censorship 'A warm and human witness to what amounts to the surreal transformation of a people and civilization.' Arthur Miller