Angus author's new book draws on family history in wartime Poland
An Angus author has drawn on her personal history for her new book, which tells a tale of war and family.
In 1930s Warsaw live two privileged sisters Ida — glamorous and self-assured — and Luiza, the spirited tomboy striving to fulfil the ambitions their German-born father once held for the son he never had.
At 17, Luiza's world is upended when her homeland is occupied. Caught between two identities, she must decide where her true allegiance lies.
Ida, meanwhile, newly married and expecting her first child, is living under Soviet occupation in eastern Poland. When she and her baby vanish, Luiza begins a search that will span decades. Ironically, the war that destroys Ida brings Luiza adventure and love. But her life becomes driven by survivor’s guilt — a need to live not only for herself, but for her lost sister.
Inspired by the life of the author Marya Burgess’s mother, ‘Finding Ida’ is a gripping family saga. exploring themes of faith, loss and forgiveness, and the enduring human drive to survive. At its heart, it is a story about identity and belonging.
Marya’s career as a reporter and producer with the BBC spanned almost four decades. Over the years, she has attempted to tell her mother’s story, but it was only after moving to Scotland that the book began to take shape.
She said: “Growing up on a housing estate in Kent, my mother’s tales of her upbringing seemed unbelievably romantic. But there was a darker side: the disappearance of a sister, the loss of home. There was drama and mystery and I wanted to tell the story.”
Using a Polish government scheme for foreigners of Polish origin, she took the first step by spending a year at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, learning Polish.
Marya said: “Life put the manuscript on hold, but when I took voluntary redundancy, moved to rural Scotland and got a dog, ‘Finding Ida’ emerged. I have changed names, created or conflated some characters, and fictionalised around the known events, but the coincidences – even the most unlikely – are genuine. Life is stranger than fiction.”
‘Finding Ida’ is available now priced at £9.99.