The Madagaskar Plan

The Madagaskar Plan is a thrilling alternate history in the tradition of Fatherland and SS-GB.

1953. After the disaster of Dunkirk, Britain and her Empire are diminished. Nazi Germany controls much of Europe and a vast African territory. There has been no Holocaust. Instead the Jews have been exiled to the island of Madagaskar. Six million crammed into a tropical ghetto ruled by the SS.

Burton Cole is alone in this world. Returning to Britain after a fatally compromised mission to Africa, the former mercenary finds his lover, Madeleine, has disappeared. Desperate to discover what happened to her, he is drawn into a conspiracy that will lead him back to the Dark Continent.

Meanwhile, the man who has haunted Burton’s whole life, Walter Hochburg the Nazi Governor of Kongo, has turned his attention to Madagaskar. He has heard of certain scientists among the prisoners – scientists who could develop a weapon of unimaginable power.

But Hochburg is not the only one looking to Madagaskar. The British want to destroy the island’s naval base to bring America into a war against the Reich. They have found the ideal man for the task: Reuben Salois, the only Jew to have escaped the island. The only one brave, or foolhardy, enough to return.

These three men, driven by different hopes and ambitions, will converge on Madagaskar. One way or the other, the fate of the world is in their hands…

Drawing on the Nazis’ original plans for the Jews, Guy Saville has meticulously imagined a world-that-nearly-was to tell an epic tale of love, revenge and survival.

First published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2015.

“Rousing….vividly realized…eerily plausible, will intrigue WWII buffs and fans of Harry Turtledove and other alternate-history masters”.
Booklist  – Starred Review

“‘Saville doesn’t sacrifice characterization for action of plot… The way Saville interweaves [the] story line… is masterly”.
Publishers Weekly – Starred Review

“Although a sequel to his debut and marked by his same trademark set pieces of flamboyant and perfectly choreographed violence (a stampede of pigs, a burst dam, an exploding cruise ship), this book also works well as a standalone, fast-paced and ingeniously plotted alternative history thriller. But it is so much more…politically astute, packed with memorable characters and written in a rich style full of cinematic, painterly, and even culinary allusions, musical motifs and dialogues with poets as various as Homer and Dylan Thomas…above all, a profound love story…a wonderful novel, funny and bleak, poetic and violent, action-packed and sensual. Very highly recommended, and not just to thriller enthusiasts”.
Historical Novel Review  – Editor’s Choice

“Saville — incredibly — brings to life the Africa of the early 1950’s…Swiftly emerging in this unfolding high drama are characters who will not soon fade from reader’s mind….there is considerable action, romance, and a unique story line that readers are sure to discuss and debate. Saville is a master story-teller and reading this second volume in the trilogy of a Nazi-ruled Africa is sure to have the reader say: ‘When will the third book be here?'”
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