The Puppet Maker of Prague by Eliza Graham

One of the things I remember from my visit to Prague, more than twenty years ago now, is seeing so many places selling traditional Czech puppets, so I was drawn to this book as soon as I saw the title. The novel follows the story of a family torn apart during the Nazi occupation of Prague, which begins in March 1939. Petr Doubek is the puppet maker of the title and has been making a name for himself in Prague with his clever, entertaining puppet shows featuring his own beautifully made marionettes. Since the Nazis marched into the Sudetenland the previous year, Petr’s shows have become increasingly satirical, mocking Hitler and his politics, something Petr greatly regrets when the rest of Czechoslovakia, including Prague, also falls under Nazi control. He flees to Poland, leaving behind his wife, three-year-old daughter Jana and nineteen-year-old stepdaughter, Elsa. When their mother makes the difficult decision to join her husband in exile, it is left to Elsa to raise her little…

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