Jane Thynne Books In Order

Publication Order of Clara Vine Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Rose Ransom Books

Jane Thynne is a journalist whose historical fiction, which provides glimpses into the often ignored aspects of the Third Reich, has garnered a lot of attention. Jane Thynne is married to Philip Kerr.

+Biography

Jane Thynne was born in 1961 in Venezuela. Her childhood was spent in London with her parents and siblings. A student of Lady Eleanor Holles School and St. Anne’s College in Oxford, Jane has a degree in English.

Before pursuing her fiction, Jane first worked as a journalist. She enjoyed a relatively successful career in the field. Jane’s journey began when she became a production trainee at the BBC.

However, she did not full settle until she made her way to The Sunday Times. Though, she didn’t stay put for long, eventually finding a place at The Daily Telegraph. Despite the heights she was able to climb in journalism, Jane Thynne never felt quite as fulfilled as she did when the contract for her first novel was signed.

‘Patrimony’ came out in 1997 and it placed Jane on the path to stardom in the publishing field. Jane has always loved historical fiction. She loves history in general, and writing about history is all the more satisfying, especially when she is granted the opportunity embellish a little, adding depth to vague occurrences and exploring characters that have been largely ignored.

Like most authors of historical fiction, it isn’t the groundbreaking historical events that elicit interest from Jane but rather the personal lives of the players involved in those events.

And it isn’t the big names that draw Jane’s attention but those less important players. Jane’s Nazi-based novels, for example, focus not on the Nazi generals and soldiers but their wives and girlfriends.

Jane wants to tell stories that even the most astute historians have never considered. Eva Braun, for example, has always been the woman who married a monster. However, rather than merely condemning her for her decision to have an affair with Hitler, Jane would rather show the mindset that probably drove the woman to act as she did, the struggles she faced because of her decision, the aspirations she held, and so on and so forth.

Jane Thynne literally gives voices to names and faces that have always been silent. Jane doesn’t argue with claims that she is always writing about the women’s side of the Third Reich.

It is an approach she proudly takes as a writer because the women of the Third Reich, according to Jane, have so little coverage as to be invisible. Jane disagrees with claims that her books gloss over the monstrous events of the Third Reich in favor of telling romanticized stories about the less important players of the Nazi movement.

Rather, she believes that her work adds volumes to people’s understanding of history. For Jane, the only way to understand history’s more interesting players, even the brutal ones is to explore their relationships and to try to understand how they were viewed by those individuals who watched them change the world.

Jane’s novels can be trusted because, unlike many other authors, she actually relishes in the opportunity to do research. And she does a lot of it. As a journalist, nothing is more important to Jane than accuracy.

Jane elevates accuracy above most other aspects of her craft as a writer. The author only ever invents new aspects of history when she has no substantial sources to draw upon. Otherwise, Jane endeavors to make her stories historically accurate.

She won’t change dates or manipulate personalities for the sake of entertainment. And doesn’t think she even needs to, not when there are so many memoirs, letters and recordings of one sort or another for her to meticulously study as she tries to better understand the historical figures that have piqued her interest.

Jane’s husband Philip is best known for the Bernie Gunther books which take place in the 1930s in Berlin. Jane has admitted that she and Philip often talk about their novels, even going so far as to make suggestions about interesting developments they could make in their respective German-based stories.

Besides writing historical fiction, Jane Thynne also works as a freelance journalist, making contributions to Newspapers and magazines. She also makes periodic appearances on BBC programs, both on TV and Radio.

+Black Roses

When Clara Vine comes to Berlin looking for work at the famous Ufa Studios, she doesn’t expect to engage so intimately with a group of Nazi wives, but that is exactly what happens.

This is at a time when Hitler is just coming to power. Hitler’s goal is clear: he wants to create a population that is purely German. To do this, he begins initiating changes that will help him control the masses, this including controlling how women dress and behave.

Clara, who is Anglo-German, is chosen by Leo Quinn, a British Intelligence Officer, to become a spy, with her connections to her elite friends granting her access to the highest echelons of German authority.

Clara’s life is threatened when a dangerous secret revealed to her by one of the Nazi wives causes her to question her loyalties.

There is a lot to like about this book, chief amongst which is the unique glimpse it provides into 1930s Berlin. Clara takes center stage as the protagonist of the story. With her father’s political connections, Clara quickly finds work in the film industry in Berlin.

However, in growing close to the wives and girlfriends of Nazis, Clara becomes a pawn in a very dangerous game, one with global implications.

+Woman in the Shadows.

Clara Vine has finally found her place in the Secret Services in Berlin. Because of her competence, Clara is assigned a difficult undercover case. She must infiltrate a Nazi Bride school where the future wives of top ranking German officials are trained to become the perfect partner.

The second novel in Jane Thynne’s Clara Vine series is more suspenseful than the first. Clara is constantly on guard because of her Jewish ancestry, not to mention the work she is doing with British Intelligence.

When one of Clara’s friends, a dancer and fiancé to an SS Officer, dies, Clara grows curious about the country’s Nazi bride schools, so much so that she pretends to be one in order to infiltrate the school.

3 Responses to “Jane Thynne”

1. Jean Portley: 2 years ago

   I’m looking forward to reading ‘Queen High’ , but I’d love to know what happens next to Clara Vine. I hope we haven’t heard the last of her. Best wishes.

   Reply
2. Susan Younie: 3 years ago

   Is there another Clara Vine novel after Solitaire? If not I hope there will be one soon.

   Reply
   • Graeme: 3 years ago

     Not at this moment unfortunately.

     Reply