“Hannah resolved to find out what it was and why it had been so important to him that he’d brought it all the way to Australia.”

The Book Fairies have been busy sharing copies this weekend of The Hidden Book by Kirsty Manning – what a perfect title for us to share. This powerful book has been hidden all around Australia for lucky finders to discover. Have a look at the blurb below to find out more 🙂

About the book:

From the bestselling author of The Jade Lily comes a compelling novel based on a true story of a WWII European heirloom that brought down war criminals and travelled through history … to be found in an Australian country shed in 2019.

Europe, 1940

Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, or so the officials think…

Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.

Australia, present

When thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell’s Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in calico cloth which Roza, Hannah’s mother, quickly hides.

Later, Hannah sneaks off in search of the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering.

At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to ‘bear witness’ to history.

A startling story of clandestine courage and treachery in World War Two, and how we must meet and overcome our pasts to move into our futures.

Happy finders of The Hidden Book!

We love hearing from happy finders of the books we leave behind. We had SO many great messages and pictures this weekend from people who found copies – here are some of our favourites…

Get your hands on a copy!

The Hidden Book is surprisingly easy to find – it’s out NOW in all good bookshops!

Would you like to be a book fairy?

Wherever you are in the world, you can join in the magic and be a book fairy. We have free delivery on our stickers and starter pack, so get stuck in!