{"product_id":"matchbox-girl","title":"The Matchbox Girl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the multi-award-winning author\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ea beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel telling the story of a young girl's battle for survival and search for the truth in occupied Vienna\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e**WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2026**\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A fierce celebration of the messy nature of humanity itself\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A shimmering masterwork\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e Alice Austen\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'An extraordinary novel about resilience'\u003c\/b\u003e Amanda Craig\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A mesmerising tapestry woven across history'\u003c\/b\u003e Gina Rippon\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'Gripping and profound. A masterful work of rare complexity that lingers and haunts'\u003c\/b\u003e Christine Leunens\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Adelheid Brunner does not speak. She writes and draws instead and her ambition is to own one thousand matchboxes. Her grandmother cannot make sense of this, but Adelheid will stop at nothing to achieve her dream. She makes herself invisible, hiding in cupboards with her pet rat, Franz Joseph, listening in on conversations she can't fully comprehend.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Then she meets Dr Asperger, a man who lets children play all day and who recognises the importance of matchboxes. He invites Adelheid to come and live at the Vienna paediatric clinic, where she and other children like herself will live under observation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e But the date is 1938 and the place is Vienna - a city of political instability, a place of increasing fear and violence. When the Nazis march into the city, a new world is created and difficult choices must be made.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Why are the clinic's children disappearing, and where do they go? Adelheid starts to suspect that some of Dr Asperger's games are played for the highest stakes. In order to survive, she must play a game whose rules she cannot yet understand.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTriumphant and tragic, soulful and spirited, \u003ci\u003eThe Matchbox Girl\u003c\/i\u003e is a burningly brilliant book - that brings the stories of a generation of lost children into the light.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'A vividly imagined story told with real drive and heart'\u003c\/b\u003e Rachel Seiffert\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'Unique and profoundly human'\u003c\/b\u003e Emma Darwin\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the most charismatic and companionable narrators I've ever come across'\u003c\/b\u003e Toby Litt\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'The sheer brilliance of Alice Jolly's writing stopped me in my tracks, stole my breath'\u003c\/b\u003e Angela Findlay\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e'An important, powerful book, so real I couldn't put it down'\u003c\/b\u003e Kathleen Jones\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unity Books","offers":[{"title":"Matchbox Girl","offer_id":46370115780805,"sku":null,"price":37.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0625\/6679\/3413\/files\/978-1-5266-8105-8.jpg?v=1781647786","url":"https:\/\/unitybooks.myshopify.com\/products\/matchbox-girl","provider":"Unity Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}