The Vintner - Greta's Secret

Historical Novels, Commercial Fiction, Women's Fiction, Fiction

From half-orphan to successful wine gromer

Greta does what she was told to do in the will of her late father Fritz Freudberg and marries the cellar master Bruno Bachstern and inherits – at only 20 – the largest vineyard in the Palatinate. She can finally create a real home and build a family of her own after her difficult youth as a foster child of the winegrowing Hellerts. Greta and Bruno are united by their love of vineyards and the art of wine production. And when little Leo is born, they seem to be on cloud nine. Yet the more successful Greta becomes as a wine-grower, the more Bruno distances himself from her. When the fun-loving South African student Henry van Buren comes to help with the harvesting on the estate, Greta makes a fateful decision…

  • Fabulous insights into a wine-grower's life in the 80ies and 90ies in Germany
  • Gripping story of a woman who is trapped between tradition and emancipation
Nora Engel

Nora Engel is a pseudonym – this novel was actually written by two authors.
Danela Pietrek studied French, theatre studies, and comparative literature, among other things, in Munich. During her studies she discovered her love of film. After long stays in California and Spain, she worked as a producer on various TV projects. She writes screenplays and has published three novels and a memoir. Today, Pietrek lives with her two daughters in Hamburg.
Tania Krätschmar is a native Berliner and a trained bookseller. She studied German in the USA and worked as a literary scout in Manhattan. Since 2009 she has made a name for herself as an author of a number of successful novels. She also works as a copywriter, translator, and reviewer. Krätschmar now lives with her son in Berlin.

The Vintner - Greta's Secret

From half-orphan to successful wine gromer

Greta does what she was told to do in the will of her late father Fritz Freudberg and marries the cellar master Bruno Bachstern and inherits – at only 20 – the largest vineyard in the Palatinate. She can finally create a real home and build a family of her own after her difficult youth as a foster child of the winegrowing Hellerts. Greta and Bruno are united by their love of vineyards and the art of wine production. And when little Leo is born, they seem to be on cloud nine. Yet the more successful Greta becomes as a wine-grower, the more Bruno distances himself from her. When the fun-loving South African student Henry van Buren comes to help with the harvesting on the estate, Greta makes a fateful decision…

  • Fabulous insights into a wine-grower's life in the 80ies and 90ies in Germany
  • Gripping story of a woman who is trapped between tradition and emancipation
Bibliographic Data
432 pages, ISBN: 978-3-423-22017-0
First published 2022