The Lilac People by Milo Todd

Finalist for the New England Book Award

“Reminiscent of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See . . . Heart-stopping in its suspense and dramatic reveals.” —The Boston Globe

In 1932 Berlin, the Eldorado Club pulses with music and possibility—the beating heart of a thriving queer community. Here, Bertie, a trans man working alongside the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, fights for queer rights and envisions a brighter future. But when Hitler seizes power, everything shatters. The Institute is destroyed, the Eldorado shuttered, and Bertie must flee with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a remote farm where they assume the identities of an elderly couple.

For over a decade, they live in isolation, waiting for freedom. Then, in the war’s final days, they discover a young trans man collapsed on their property—still wearing Holocaust prison clothes. What follows is an extraordinary act of courage: protecting him not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who continue arresting queer prisoners even as they liberate others.

Maine author Milo Todd has crafted a deeply humane novel that recovers a hidden chapter of World War II and trans history. Brimming with resilience, hope, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People is an unforgettable family saga that illuminates the courage required to survive—and the love that makes survival worthwhile. This is historical fiction at its finest: urgent, tender, and absolutely necessary.

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