Nancy McDonald’s career began as a television journalist on programs that included W5, Canada AM, and Marketplace. She then went on to become a sought-after freelance writer, penning everything from documentaries to live-action scripts to comic books.
Her first full-length novel, Boy from Berlin, was published in 2018 and One Boy’s War, the much-anticipated sequel, followed in 2020. The books chronicle the desperate flight from Nazi Europe of Käfer Avigdor, and his family, and are based on real people and historical events. Read her personal essay on the story behind the novels here.
Her next two novels, Girl on the Run (2021) and The Doktor’s Daughter (2022), continue to explore the theme of Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany through the eyes of a plucky young German-Jewish girl.
Nancy lives in Stratford, Ontario, where she revels in Shakespeare, treads the boards with the Perth County Players and works part-time at Stratford’s only independent bookseller, Fanfare Books.
She invites you to visit her at www.nancymcdonald.ca and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Book(s)
Books
Boy from Berlin
Berlin, April 1938. One night, eight-year-old Käfer Avigdor uses his specialty toilet-paper roll binoculars to spy on his Mama and Aunt Charlotte.
One Boy's War
ENGLAND, SUMMER 1940. Following a brush with death on the Irish Sea, ten-year-old Käfer Avigdor unexpectedly finds himself back in London. There, he stumbles upon a sinister Nazi plot, which targets hundreds of people in Britain — including the most powerful man in the country.
Girl on the Run
It’s 1933 in Berlin. The Nazis have seized power, and for thirteen-year-old Amelie Mayer life is changing in ways she never could have imagined.
The Doktor's Daughter
Tragedy brings Amelie Meyer back to Berlin. It's been four years since she was forced to flee her home, leaving everything behind-including her father.