Four hundred years of turbulent history, one remarkable house, ten extraordinary families - and the most famous girl in the world.

In 1635, a tall, narrow house was built in Amsterdam’s newly constructed Canal District during the Dutch Golden Age.

Over four hundred years, this house would welcome a colourful cast of memorable characters; merchants, pioneers, enslavers, craftsmen and religious dissenters all left their mark on its walls. Most notably, a young Jewish girl would hide here from the Nazis with her family, chronicling her days with heartfelt humanity in a red-checked diary.

An enthralling portrait of sanctuary, survival and secrecy, here is a book to remind us that a wealth of history can be uncovered through the long life of a house and the people who called it home.

Praise for Thomas Harding:

‘It is Harding’s great achievement that he has painted a large canvas of history, but has done so with glinting individual stories’ Guardian

‘With the narrative drive of a great novelist and the meticulous research of a great historian, Harding has crafted a moving, instructive and important book’ Herald

‘Harding is a thoughtful and honest writer’ Literary Review

‘A researcher of the first rank’ Daily Express