
The Hidden Village
Wartime Holland, Book 1
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Antonia Whillans
-
By:
-
Imogen Matthews
About this listen
Nazi-occupied Holland, 1943. A heartbreaking tale based on the true story of an entire town that put itself in incredible danger to keep strangers safe in World War II.
In the quiet Dutch countryside, 15-year-old Sofie returns home from school to find two armed men in her home. One is holding the barrel of his rifle to her father’s temple, and the other is ransacking her mother’s purse. Even though the Nazis find no proof that the family is Jewish, Sofie knows that this means they will have to leave.
Although they find safety concealed in a neighbor’s attic, they cannot stay there forever. As the war intensifies, the sound of air raids grows louder and more soldiers begin knocking on the door. In the darkness, the family huddle together with no idea of what to do.
But a resistance has been growing, and the town has built a village deep in the woods where they’ve been hiding Jewish people. Although the Nazis have heard of its existence, they haven’t been able to find it. And when Sofie’s mother finds out that they have one space left, Sofie is told to go.
Sofie is given the secret location. To get there she just has to make sure she evades the soldiers patrolling the woods. And if she makes it, no matter how much she wants to help the rest of her family, she must stay hidden. But how long can she stay in the darkness when her loved ones are at risk?
Fans of Fiona Valpy, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and The Choice will never forget this unbelievable tale and the real-life heroes who inspired it.
©2022 Imogen Matthews (P)2022 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Doctor’s Daughter
- By: Shari J. Ryan
- Narrated by: Annette Chown, Andrew Kingston
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Nazi-occupied Poland, Sofia cannot look her father in the eye. Sofia’s mother, her papa’s cherished wife, is Jewish—how dare he work as a doctor for the SS? She cannot forgive him, even if the bargain was made to spare their lives. In the middle of the night, Isaac emerges from a packed train with hundreds of others. Beneath Auschwitz’s barbed wire, the SS decide prisoners’ fates on the spot—and Isaac is chosen to work. Every breath feels like it could be Isaac’s last, so when he sees a beautiful auburn-haired girl peering out of the farm window, it feels like a dream.
-
-
A little different
- By Laura Maness on 06-03-22
By: Shari J. Ryan
-
The Girl Across the Wire Fence
- Completely Unforgettable World War Two Historical Fiction Based on a True Story
- By: Imogen Matthews
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The scrap of folded paper weighed heavy in Saskia’s pocket. The Nazi guards were patrolling the streets in ever-increasing numbers and every time she passed one on her bicycle she felt herself tense. The note she held told a story of unbelievable courage. The Nazis wanted the prisoners to give up hope inside the camp but Saskia was smuggling letters to them from their loved ones, giving them a reason to survive.
-
-
Really good book
- By Dinner on 05-04-22
By: Imogen Matthews
-
The German Wife
- Inspired by True Events, an Absolutely Gripping and Heartbreaking WW2 Historical Novel
- By: Debbie Rix
- Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Germany, 1939: Annaliese is a doctor’s wife, living in an elegant grey stone house with ivy creeping over the balcony. But when her husband is ordered to work at the Dachau labor camp, her ordinary life is turned upside down by the horrors of war. And Annaliese finds herself in grave danger when she dares to fight for love and freedom. America, 1989: Turning the pages of the newspaper, Annaliese gasps when she recognizes the face of a man she thought she’d never see again....
-
-
Ridiculous story
- By christina on 02-22-22
By: Debbie Rix
-
The Last Restaurant in Paris
- By: Lily Graham
- Narrated by: Polly Edsell
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In enemy-occupied Paris, as the locals go to bed starving and defeated by the war, music and laughter spills through the door of a little restaurant, crowded with German soldiers. The owner, Marianne, moves on weary feet between its packed tables, carrying plates of steaming, wholesome food for the enemy officers. Her smile is bright and sparkling, her welcome cordial. Nobody would guess the hatred she hides in her heart. That night, the restaurant closes its doors for the final time.
-
-
SO GOOD!
- By Carla Thomas on 04-20-24
By: Lily Graham
-
A Light in the Window
- A Completely Gripping WW2 Historical Novel with a Heartbreaking Twist
- By: Marion Kummerow
- Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Berlin, 1941: Margarete Rosenbaum is working as a housemaid for a senior Nazi officer when his house is bombed, leaving her the only survivor. But when she’s mistaken for his daughter in the aftermath of the blast, Margarete knows she can make a bid for freedom.... Issued with temporary papers - and with the freedom of not being seen as Jewish - a few hours are all she needs to escape to relative safety. That is, until her former employer’s son, SS officer Wilhelm Huber, tracks her down.
-
-
Wonderful Story!
- By Melinda on 05-16-22
By: Marion Kummerow
-
Under a Sky of Memories
- By: Soraya M. Lane
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sicily, 1943. Three American women, all nurses in the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron, are determined to do all they can for their country. Vita is fun-loving, Dot shy and sweet-natured, and Evelyn practical and determined, but for all their differences, a life of military service pulls the three together as firm friends. When they’re selected for a daring mission, the women are proud to play their part. But disaster strikes when their plane crash-lands behind enemy lines in occupied Albania. finally find their way home?
-
-
not Fiction-Literature
- By Аmazon Customer on 02-01-22
By: Soraya M. Lane
-
The Doctor’s Daughter
- By: Shari J. Ryan
- Narrated by: Annette Chown, Andrew Kingston
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Nazi-occupied Poland, Sofia cannot look her father in the eye. Sofia’s mother, her papa’s cherished wife, is Jewish—how dare he work as a doctor for the SS? She cannot forgive him, even if the bargain was made to spare their lives. In the middle of the night, Isaac emerges from a packed train with hundreds of others. Beneath Auschwitz’s barbed wire, the SS decide prisoners’ fates on the spot—and Isaac is chosen to work. Every breath feels like it could be Isaac’s last, so when he sees a beautiful auburn-haired girl peering out of the farm window, it feels like a dream.
-
-
A little different
- By Laura Maness on 06-03-22
By: Shari J. Ryan
-
The Girl Across the Wire Fence
- Completely Unforgettable World War Two Historical Fiction Based on a True Story
- By: Imogen Matthews
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The scrap of folded paper weighed heavy in Saskia’s pocket. The Nazi guards were patrolling the streets in ever-increasing numbers and every time she passed one on her bicycle she felt herself tense. The note she held told a story of unbelievable courage. The Nazis wanted the prisoners to give up hope inside the camp but Saskia was smuggling letters to them from their loved ones, giving them a reason to survive.
-
-
Really good book
- By Dinner on 05-04-22
By: Imogen Matthews
-
The German Wife
- Inspired by True Events, an Absolutely Gripping and Heartbreaking WW2 Historical Novel
- By: Debbie Rix
- Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Germany, 1939: Annaliese is a doctor’s wife, living in an elegant grey stone house with ivy creeping over the balcony. But when her husband is ordered to work at the Dachau labor camp, her ordinary life is turned upside down by the horrors of war. And Annaliese finds herself in grave danger when she dares to fight for love and freedom. America, 1989: Turning the pages of the newspaper, Annaliese gasps when she recognizes the face of a man she thought she’d never see again....
-
-
Ridiculous story
- By christina on 02-22-22
By: Debbie Rix
-
The Last Restaurant in Paris
- By: Lily Graham
- Narrated by: Polly Edsell
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In enemy-occupied Paris, as the locals go to bed starving and defeated by the war, music and laughter spills through the door of a little restaurant, crowded with German soldiers. The owner, Marianne, moves on weary feet between its packed tables, carrying plates of steaming, wholesome food for the enemy officers. Her smile is bright and sparkling, her welcome cordial. Nobody would guess the hatred she hides in her heart. That night, the restaurant closes its doors for the final time.
-
-
SO GOOD!
- By Carla Thomas on 04-20-24
By: Lily Graham
-
A Light in the Window
- A Completely Gripping WW2 Historical Novel with a Heartbreaking Twist
- By: Marion Kummerow
- Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Berlin, 1941: Margarete Rosenbaum is working as a housemaid for a senior Nazi officer when his house is bombed, leaving her the only survivor. But when she’s mistaken for his daughter in the aftermath of the blast, Margarete knows she can make a bid for freedom.... Issued with temporary papers - and with the freedom of not being seen as Jewish - a few hours are all she needs to escape to relative safety. That is, until her former employer’s son, SS officer Wilhelm Huber, tracks her down.
-
-
Wonderful Story!
- By Melinda on 05-16-22
By: Marion Kummerow
-
Under a Sky of Memories
- By: Soraya M. Lane
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sicily, 1943. Three American women, all nurses in the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron, are determined to do all they can for their country. Vita is fun-loving, Dot shy and sweet-natured, and Evelyn practical and determined, but for all their differences, a life of military service pulls the three together as firm friends. When they’re selected for a daring mission, the women are proud to play their part. But disaster strikes when their plane crash-lands behind enemy lines in occupied Albania. finally find their way home?
-
-
not Fiction-Literature
- By Аmazon Customer on 02-01-22
By: Soraya M. Lane
-
The Wife Who Risked Everything
- By: Ellie Midwood
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Margot and her adoring husband, Jochen, are madly in love. But in Nazi Germany, being in love is the most dangerous act of all. A marriage between Margot, a German woman, and Jochen, a Jewish man, is forbidden under Hitler’s tyrannical rule. Yet when friends cross the street to avoid Margot and her own mother rejects her, she stays loyal to Jochen. When the Gestapo break into their home and steal their belongings, she remains steadfast. And when soldiers arrest Jochen, imprisoning him with countless others, Margot will stop at nothing to save him.
-
-
Beautiful narrative of accurate history!
- By Clayton on 12-19-24
By: Ellie Midwood
-
Goodnight, Vienna
- By: Marius Gabriel
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1937. Katya Komarovsky is studying medicine in Glasgow, living among friends and eager to begin her career as a doctor. But when her spendthrift parents announce that they’ve run out of money and are facing ruin—and that she’ll now have to support them by working as a governess in Vienna—the life she’s dreamed of goes up in smoke. Furiously resentful, Katya rages at her wealthy employer, Thor, for stealing her future—and saddling her with twelve-year-old Gretchen, a deeply troubled child who has only a blazing musical talent to redeem her.
-
-
Such a good story. Heartache and triumph
- By paula wright on 02-24-22
By: Marius Gabriel
-
The White Rose Network
- Based on a True Story (A Heartbreaking World War 2 Novel)
- By: Ellie Midwood
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sophie was born to be a rebel, raised by parents who challenged the brutal Nazi regime. Determined to follow in their footsteps, she leaves for university, defying Hitler’s command for women to stay at home. She knows instantly that she isn’t alone, that there are more courageous souls like her who will fight against evil. But it is only a matter of time before the Gestapo closes in.... And when Sophie is imprisoned in an interrogation room, staring a Nazi officer in the eye, will she take their secrets to her grave?
-
-
A story of incredible bravery
- By V. Temple on 11-30-22
By: Ellie Midwood
-
The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon
- By: Suzanne Goldring
- Narrated by: Katy Sobey
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Florence, 1943. As the bells toll in the solemn dark streets and enemy soldiers loiter by the city’s beautiful bridges, schoolgirl Gabriella is racked with guilt. She is ashamed of the crush she had on the soldier with raven-black hair, a crush that allowed a secret notebook to fall into the hands of the enemy. Faced with her brother’s haunted eyes and the prospect of never seeing her father again, Gabriella is determined to make things right. She seeks out her old schoolfriend Stefanina, an unlikely member of the Italian resistance with her beautiful curls and scarlet ribbon.
By: Suzanne Goldring
-
Where the Sky Begins
- A Novel
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Emma Griffiths
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’ world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go. Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again.
-
-
Probably the worst Rhys Bowen book I have read
- By Tony on 08-14-22
By: Rhys Bowen
-
Garden of Secrets
- By: Suzanne Kelman
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a beautiful English-speaking young woman named Anya is recruited to be a Russian spy working with the Nazi party, her first thought is that it means she can escape a terrifying situation at home. But when she finds herself sent to work as a land girl in a beautiful corner of England and begins to make friends—ones she knows she may have to betray—she fears she’s made a terrible mistake. The only person she can turn to is her fellow informer, Nikolai, and she finds herself impossibly drawn to his quiet intensity. But being together increases the risk to them both.
-
-
Could Be Better
- By Laura Maness on 06-16-22
By: Suzanne Kelman
-
When the Nightingale Sings
- By: Suzanne Kelman
- Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When an impossibly shy young woman named Judy Morgan finishes her studies in Physics at Cambridge University, it is with dreams of changing the world for the better. Meanwhile, a beautiful, young Jewish woman decides to flee her beloved Austria, changing her name to Hedy Lamarr, and risking everything to get to America, as far away from the Nazi threat as possible.
-
-
A Sour Note
- By Cubbug on 03-06-22
By: Suzanne Kelman
-
The Paris Assignment
- A Novel
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Londoner Madeleine Grant is studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when she marries charismatic French journalist Giles Martin. As they raise their son, Olivier, they hold on to a tenuous promise for the future. Until the thunder of war sets off alarms in France. Staying behind to join the resistance, Giles sends Madeleine and Olivier to the relative safety of England, where Madeleine secures a job teaching French at a secondary school. Yet nowhere is safe. After a devastating twist of fate resulting in the loss of her son, Madeleine accepts a request from the ministry to aid in the war effort.
-
-
Frustrating
- By ESay on 11-20-23
By: Rhys Bowen
-
Liar
- By: K. L. Slater
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How far would you go to protect your family? Single dad Ben is doing his best to raise his children, with the help of his devoted mother, Judi. And then Ben meets Amber. Everyone thinks this is a perfect match for Ben, but Judi isn't so sure.... There's just something about Amber that doesn't add up. Ben can't see why his mother dislikes his new girlfriend. And Amber doesn't want Judi anywhere near her new family. Amber just wants Ben and the children.
-
-
Loved It!
- By TC on 07-03-17
By: K. L. Slater
-
Lavender Road
- By: Helen Carey
- Narrated by: Annie Aldington
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lavender Road boasts a pawnbroker, a pub, two rows of terraced working class homes, and, at one end, the big house owned by the local brewer. When war breaks out, the lives and fortunes of the families who live in Lavender Road are changed out of all recognition.
-
-
Great story with wonderful, believable characters!
- By Kathleen Bailey on 03-27-24
By: Helen Carey
-
The Letter
- By: Kathryn Hughes
- Narrated by: Rachel Atkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Number One Kindle best seller guaranteed to break your heart. Every so often a love story comes along to remind us that sometimes, in our darkest hour, hope shines a candle to light our way. Discover the Number One best seller that has captured thousands of hearts worldwide.... Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband. She works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him, also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home.
-
-
If you have any degree of misophonia, skip it.
- By Jody on 02-25-16
By: Kathryn Hughes
-
The Woman Outside the Walls
- By: Suzanne Goldring
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hamburg, 1942. Seventeen-year-old Anna knows she can never tell her proud parents the truth about where she is going. She must hide the fact that she is pregnant, that the father of her unborn child is dead, and that she is on her way to a special maternity home, where her baby will be given to a perfect family. She tells herself that this is the best solution. She doesn’t expect to feel the rush of love for her beautiful baby boy in the white blanket or the devastation when he is snatched from her, never to be seen again.
-
-
Great Story in the End… a little slow to start!
- By Ali on 02-26-23
By: Suzanne Goldring
Critic reviews
"I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved this book...it kept me on the edge of my seat...stunning!" (My Chestnut Reading Tree blog, five stars)