The Danish Winter

In the winter of 1864, the map of Europe was redrawn in blood. But for one family in Sønderborg, the war was only the beginning.

Mads Jensen is a clerk who has never held a rifle. But when the Prussian army marches toward the Danish border, he leaves his ledger behind to stand on the earthworks of Dybbøl. Beside him is Lieutenant Erik Møller, a man who knows that courage alone cannot stop modern artillery, but who is determined to make the enemy pay for every inch of ground.

Back in Sønderborg, the war is fought in kitchens and schoolrooms. Sofia Møller, a young teacher, fights to keep Danish identity alive as shells rain down on her town. Anna Jensen, the matriarch, watches her family fracture - her son in the trenches, her daughter married to a German merchant with dangerous secrets, and her home in the crosshairs of the Prussian guns.

When the bombardment finally ceases, the silence brings a new kind of terror. Defeated and occupied, the family is scattered into exile. From the refugee districts of Copenhagen to the diplomatic halls of Paris, The Danish Winter spans fifty-six years of resistance, espionage, and the unyielding promise to return home.

A sweeping tale of love, sacrifice, and the enduring power of identity, The Danish Winter asks: How long would you wait to go home? And what would you be willing to sacrifice to get there?