Children of Radium

Joe Dunthorne

ISBN 10: 0241517478 / ISBN 13: 9780241517475

Published by Penguin Books Ltd, GB, 2026

About this Item

A gripping journey into the twisting moral maze of the twentieth century - a journey to uncover a radioactive family secret'The best book I've read in the past year . . . A masterpiece' Financial TimesJoe Dunthorne never met his great-grandfather Siegfried: an eccentric Jewish scientist who escaped Nazi Berlin in the 1930s and snuck back under cover of night to rescue the family heirlooms. Decades later, Siegfried wrote about his adventures in a memoir so long and rambling that almost no one ever managed to read it. Decades after that, his great-grandson Joe unearthed the dusty manuscript and got a nasty surprise. Because hidden on page 1,692 of the unreadable memoir was a shocking confession . . .'A voyage into the heart of twentieth-century darkness [.] narrated with the twists and turns of a detective story' ObserverSHORTLISTED FOR WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026SHORTLISTED FOR THE TLS ACKERLEY PRIZE 2026.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780241517475

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Children of Radium
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241517478
• ISBN 13: 9780241517475
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 200 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A gripping journey into the twisting moral maze of the twentieth century – a journey to uncover a radioactive family secret

'The best book I’ve read in the past year . . . A masterpiece' Financial Times

Joe Dunthorne never met his great-grandfather Siegfried: an eccentric Jewish scientist who escaped Nazi Berlin in the 1930s and snuck back under cover of night to rescue the family heirlooms. Decades later, Siegfried wrote about his adventures in a memoir so long and rambling that almost no one ever managed to read it. Decades after that, his great-grandson Joe unearthed the dusty manuscript and got a nasty surprise. Because hidden on page 1,692 of the unreadable memoir was a shocking confession . . .

‘A voyage into the heart of twentieth-century darkness [...] narrated with the twists and turns of a detective story’ Observer

SHORTLISTED FOR WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026

About the Author

Joe Dunthorne was born and brought up in Swansea. He is the author of three novels and one collection of poetry, including Submarine, which has been translated into fifteen languages and made into an acclaimed film directed by Richard Ayoade, and Wild Abandon, which won the 2012 Encore Award. Children of Radium is his first work of non-fiction. He lives in London.

www.joedunthorne.com