Sebastian Haffner »Die Tochter«

It will remain a mystery why the famous historian Sebastian Haffner (1907–1999) did not publish his moving memoir »Geschichte eines Deutschen« (2001) and the novella »Abschied« (2025) – both number-one bestsellers – during his lifetime. Now another novel from his estate is being published, in which he once again transports us to 1920s Berlin: »Die Tochter«.

Sixteen-year-old Lulli Langfuß wants short hair, to go out, to be free. But in Lichterfelde, her unstable father, her domineering Aunt Viktoria and a very elderly great-aunt in felt shoes creep through the house, dreaming of the Kaiser. When Lulli meets the cynical Arvid at a dance, she begins to rebel openly, thereby jeopardising her family’s bourgeois façade.

Sebastian Haffner’s first novel, written three years before »Abschied« and now released from his estate, is a social novel in which the spirit of new beginnings and exuberance of the Weimar Republic is just as palpable as the schizophrenia of an emotionally stunted generation.

Two true Berliners – the author Annett Gröschner and the author and moderator Jürgen Kuttner – tackle this previously unpublished Berlin novel, whilst the actress Lia von Blarer reads selected passages aloud.

Sebastian Haffner »Die Tochter«, Hanser 2026