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The House on the Hill
From Altenburg to Luderitz. A Jewish Family's Story of War, Loss and Discovery
By Barry John Cohen
They stole her family's legacy. Now she is taking it back.
A 32-room mansion in Altenburg, a war-torn Europe, and a painting that reopens a family's stolen legacy.
Independently published26 November 2025185 pagesEnglish
The story
Inside The House on the Hill.
- Historical fiction
- Family saga
- Restitution
A historical story following the Levy family from a 32-room mansion in Altenburg through the devastation of war-torn Europe and into a later search for a stolen family legacy.
Lotte discovers a painting connected to her family's past and begins uncovering the person who profited from her family's suffering.
The story explores memory, justice, restoration, family history and the way art can preserve memory across generations.
Themes & reading experience
What the book is about, beneath the plot.
Drawn from the book itself, not from marketing copy.
01
A family legacy
The Levy family, from Altenburg to Luderitz, and what was taken from them.
02
Art as memory
A painting that carries a family's history forward when the people are gone.
03
Justice and restitution
The search for the person who profited from the family's suffering.
04
War-torn Europe
Displacement and devastation across a continent.
05
Discovery
A present-day search that reopens the past.
The reading experience
The story runs on two timelines, the family's original life and a later search.
Restitution is treated as a process, not a single revelation.
Readers drawn to art-provenance narratives will recognise the framework.
Shelves this title sits on
- Historical fiction
- Second World War narratives
- Art and restitution
- Family sagas
- Jewish history
Book details
The publication record.
Only information supplied for this edition is listed. Fields we cannot verify are left out.
- Title
- The House on the Hill
- Author
- Barry John Cohen
- Publisher
- Independently published
- Publication date
- 26 November 2025
- Language
- English
- Print length
- 185 pages
- ISBN-13
- 978-1048312157
- ASIN
- B0G43L41R5
- Genre
- Historical fiction
- Availability
- Available now as a Kindle edition
Formats
- Kindle edition185 pages
- Additional formatsFurther editions to be confirmed
Author collection
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African history and politics
The De La Rey Conspiracy
Honour, political identity and rebellion in the years after the Anglo-Boer War, and the memory that followed.
View bookContinue your reading journey
Read The House on the Hill.
Available now as a Kindle edition. Further formats and territories are listed here as they are confirmed. For rights, translation, audiobook or distribution enquiries, our team will answer directly.