John Arnold is a young Englishman studying at Bonn University in the early 1930s. Living with a German family in a nearby village his witnesses the pervasive rise of Nazi power in the tight knit community. His position as a guest is complicated by his love of Germany and his burgeoning relationship with both a wealthy and influential Jewess and the maid in the house where he is lodging. Arnold finds it increasingly hard to stand silent witness to the changing political order, which relies on coercion and brutality rather than popular support.This compelling story of love, loyalty and courage in the face of extortion, treachery and murderous cruelty is semi-autobiographical. Having studied in Germany over this period, Binder inevitably draws on his own experiences and observations but invents and develops a rich cast of characters who are forced to come to terms with Hitler’s oppression.Anyone who has wondered how a country as cultured and civilized as Germany could have yielded to a barbarous dictatorship must read this book.Frank Binder was a lecturer at Bonn University during the 1930s. He may have been a British spy; certainly, he was well qualified for the task. Eventually he was forced to flee the Nazi regime for refusing to ‘Heil Hitler’, leaving behind his priceless collection of books and all his possessions. Paradoxically the British authorities imprisoned him during the Second World War as he declared himself a conscious objector.Sown With Corn was discovered only recently and has been greeted with critical acclaim. Binder’s reputation would have undoubtedly been further enhanced during his lifetime had this stunning work not have lain undiscovered for some seventy years. Frank Binder died in 1959.
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