Petra Durst-Benning Books In Order

Publication Order of Century Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Glassblower Books

Publication Order of Photographer's Saga Books

Publication Order of Seed Traders Saga Books

Petra Durst-Benning is a well known German author, who has successfully written a few historical fiction and romance novels. All the novels written by her are mostly in the German language. Hence, they had to be translated into the English language for the readers outside of Germany can also read and enjoy them. Samuel Willcocks has done the translation work of almost all her novels. Other than the successful standalone novels, author Benning has also written a total of three novel series, which are based on the romance and historical fiction genres. She was born on February 11, 1965 in Germany and is widely popular as a German author. Before becoming an author, Benning completed her graduation from Germany in the subject of agricultural sciences. Initially, she wanted to become a nationally recognized translator and business correspondent. After a while, author Benning began working as the editor of a dog magazine. In between the working days of her job, she used to write several stories on her own. Later, she went on to work as a nonfiction writer and mainly wrote about the natural cures of the diseases in animals. It was at the time of the beginning of the 1990s decade that she began writing novels based on the historical fiction genre. Slowly and steadily, author Benning kept on becoming successful in her sincere attempts of writing historical fiction novels. And by the start of the year 2015, she turned her course towards writing contemporary literature novels.

One of the most successful novel series written by author Benning is The Glassblower Trilogy series. She wrote it in the German language and Samuel Wilcocks translated in into the English language. The three of the series published between the years 2000 and 2007. The novels of the series are set in a village called Lauscha in Germany, where people like to do the things the same way as it has been done since centuries. Among the poor villagers, the men used to blow the glass while the women used to decorate them beautifully and pack them for selling in the market. This way, they used to earn their livelihood after a lot of hard work throughout the day. The story of the plots of the novels of the series features the life of one of the villagers of Lauscha, Germany, named Joost Steinmann. He also used to work very hard all the day, along with his three daughters, who used to help him to blow and decorate the glasses. Together, they seemed to stay happy in whatever they had in their life and could afford through their earnings. During one September night after one of the normal working days, Joost Steinmann unexpectedly passes away. Due to this, his three daughters are left alone and they are required to find a way of looking after themselves. Now that their father was not around to help and protect them, they must learn quickly to fend for themselves. One of the three sisters is Johanna, who is described by author Petra Durst-Benning a feisty girl. She tries to have a practical approach to life and looks for work outside the village. The other sister named Ruth is described as trying to follow what her heart days and aims to get along with a handsome and young villager. The youngest among the three sisters and totally different from Johanna and Ruth is the third sister named Marie, who is quiet and dreamy in nature. She always seemed to be most captivated by the magic and sparkling possibilities of her father’s profession. This has helped her to become an expert in the craft of glassblowing. Together, the three sisters try to remain spirited in their approaches and work very hard like their father with the hope of having a brighter future. The three sisters not only live their lives on their own terms, but also learn how to thrive in a world dominated by men. In the process, they try to remain true to themselves and their hearts.

One of the initial novels of The Glassblower Trilogy series was published under the title ‘The American Lady’. It was published by the AmazonCrossing publishing house in the year 2003. The plot of the novel is set in New York and Germany, and revolves around the life of the main character named Wanda Miles. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Wanda Miles is introduced as the beautiful and tempestuous girl and the daughter of Stephen Mile and Ruth Steinmann. Wanda has always seen Ruth and Stephen as her parents, but the reality is something that she might not be able to digest. As a young lady, she aspires to have many more things in her life than a normal debutante. But the problem is that she herself does not know what she wants from her life precisely. Then, her aunt Marie, the famous glassblower and decorator of the Steinmann family arrives at her residence from the village Lauscha in Germany. After hearing the stories about glassblowing from her aunt, Wanda decides to learn about her ancestry and hopes that it hold the key to her future. However, when Marie reveals the secret about her parents accidentally, which was kept hidden for a long time, Wanda decides to travel to the village of Lauscha, Germany and find the truth about her parents herself. Being new in the New York City, Wanda Marie seems to be swept increasingly in the city’s bohemian social life and in the process, catches the eye of a young and handsome Italian man. On the other hand, Wanda goes on to explore a past that she did not know about in the village where her mother Ruth had spent the days of her youth. While living in the village, she tries to build a life that she had never expected. The novel proved to be a sweeping tale and takes the reader from the small village of Lauscha in Germany all the way to the skyscrapers in the New York City, United States. It also gives a small description about Italy. According to author Petra Durst-Benning, the novel is a tribute to the strong power of family and depicts what the family members can do in the name of love.

The other novel of The Glassblower Trilogy was published by the AmazonCrossing publishing house in the year 2007. It was titled ‘The Paradise of Glass’ and continued to depict the lives of the three sisters from the Steinmann family. After the sudden death of her father Joost Steinmann, Johanna, who is the eldest among the three sisters has successfully managed to carry on the family’s glassblowing business. The glass wares made in their shop have become unexpectedly famous due to the contributions from the artistic gifts of the other sister named Marie. But, the town of Lauscha, Germany, which was famous all over the world as the paradise of glass, seems to be in a great danger. The local Glassworks is about to get sold and a rumor has spread that the buyer is going to make certain changes which will challenge the tradition of glass-blowing that had remained intact for so many years. Wanda Miles, the daughter of the middle Steinmann sisters arrives in Lauscha from America and gets engaged with an ambitious and dedicated local glassblower. No sooner does she learn about the impending sale than she decides to cast aside the role expected from her just like her mother and aunts in order to save the day. Wanda also decides to take a bold risk with the hard earned money of the villagers, with the help of a bank clerk. It appears that love and commerce are also fragile like glass and that the last hopes of the people of Lauscha seems to end as shattered dreams.

7 Responses to “Petra Durst-Benning”

1. Kym Puga: 1 year ago

   Please, please write a third photographer book for the series, maybe more!

   Reply
2. Marcia Engelmann: 2 years ago

   Is there a third book in the The Photographer series? If not yet, will there be one?
   The second book in the series seems to require another one!

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     At this time there isn’t. I had a look and didn’t see any mention of an upcoming one planned.

     Reply
3. Daphne Taylor: 2 years ago

   So, is there a third book in the Seed Traders series? I was under the impression (perhaps mistakenly…) that it was a trilogy. Please clarify. Thanks.

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Hi Daphne – it’s just the two in that series currently.

     Reply
4. Margaret Iris Taibbi: 2 years ago

   I am so in love with works of Petra Durst-Benning, having read the GlassBlower Triligy and While The World Is Still Asleep. Currently enjoying The Champagne Queen. As a devout reader I feel Petra stands alone as one of the best authors of our time. Thank you .

   Reply
5. Allison Payne: 3 years ago

   I very much enjoy reading your books. I love the storylines and the characters. They feel like friends and I love the history within them as well. I noticed that the bottom but you have directed some of your readers to support certain charities. Some years ago I became wrapped up in D rescue world. I live in Texas, and there is a very large tray problem here. My solution was to sell our house in one town and buy a house in another town more suited for Rescue. I now have a registered 501 c 3. It is called Abby Road rescue after our very first dachshund oh, Abby. I wonder if maybe for one month you might direct your readers to consider donating to our little rescue. My main focus is our vet bill because I not only bring younger dogs in to find them permanent homes, but I take in Senior Dogs of all breeds and allow them to live out their days at the sanctuary we where we live. I realize it might be unconventional, but for the dogs I will pretty much Advocate with anyone. Thank you again for your time and consideration. I look forward to reading your new books and following The Saga of the photographer. Best wishes and many blessings,

   Reply