Hearts of Fire

by Ellen Brazer

Shadowing the lives of two families, Hearts of Fire begins with the Milch twins. Raised in Berlin, Germany, Otto and Ilya are classic products of poverty and abuse. Brilliant, handsome and despotic, Otto maneuvers his way into the twisted bowels of the Nazi inner circle. Simultaneously, we follow the life of Morgan Rabinowiszch. Born into a pious Jewish family in Vilna, Poland, she is a gifted and exceptionally beautiful girl. Determined to become an actress she makes the momentous decision to break with the traditions of her faith. From pre-war Paris to post-war Russia, from the malaria infested swamps of Israel to the greed-filled corridors of modern day Washington, this multigenerational historical saga is a story of duplicity and outrage, courage, determination, love and triumph.

Genres: Fiction

528 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Ellen Brazer is the award-winning author of six books. Clouds Across the Sun was a pre-production selection at the Cannes Film Festival. Her novel Hearts of Fire was the recipient of Hadassah's prestigious Myrtle Wreath I Am Meir's Brother was selected by BookAuthority as one of the best books in its category, its recommendations featured on CNN and Forbes. Her newest book, She Came to Listen, was released July 2026. Ellen has spoken to over 6,000 people at venues throughout the country.

SHE CAME to LISTEN (JULY 2026) After the death of her beloved husband, retired journalist and former war correspondent Abi Levine believes the most meaningful chapters of her life have already been written. Then the impossible happens.An encounter with a centuries-old oak tree forces her to question everything she thought she knew about life, death, love, purpose, and what endures after loss.
Certain she cannot tell another soul, Abi returns day after day, caught between believing she is witnessing an inexplicable miracle and fearing she may be losing her grip on reality.As she revisits a lifetime spent reporting from the front lines of history, Abi discovers that the greatest stories are not always found in world events, but in the quiet moments that shape every human life.
"Ellen Brazer writes from the heart. Her stories stay with you."



Hearts of Fire is the prequel and extended version of Clouds Across the Sun. If you have read Clouds then reading this book will be like watching a favorite movie from a different perspective.
Shadowing the lives of two families, Hearts of Fire begins with the Milch Twins. Raised in Berlin, Germany, they are classic products of poverty and abuse. Brilliant, handsome and despotic, one twin maneuvers his way into the twisted bowels of the Nazi inner circle. Simultaneously, we follow the life of a girl born into a pious Jewish family in Vilna, Poland. Gifted, beautiful and determined to become an actress, Morgan Rabinowiszch she makes the momentous decision to break with the traditions of her faith. From pre-war Paris to post-war Russia, from the malaria-infested swamps of Israel to the greed-filled corridors of modern Washington, this historical sage is a story of duplicity and outrage, courage, termination, love and triumph.

Clouds Across the Sun https://rb.gy/k0tbck
was listed on Amazon under the best Holocaust related novels and is now being made into a movie. Ellen is thrilled to announce that she will be re-releasing Hearts of Fire, https://amzn.to/3u4WgQZ
the prequel and extended version to Clouds Across the Sun.

And So It Was Written http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095ZIB84
premiered as a bestseller under Jewish Literature on Amazon. It is the story of the building and consequent destruction of a Third Temple in Jerusalem and the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant holding the Ten Commandments. If you liked The Dove Keepers you wi

Reviews

[Jane Owen]

'Hearts Of Fire' is a wonderful historical Saga. As you follow this journey you will feel lots of emotions. You will read about the pre & post war activities that have gone on throughout time. These well developed characters will stay with you long after the novel has ended but keep the kleenex handy because you will need them.

A Wonderful Interesting Read. I was fortunate to have won a Kindle Copy of this book from a 'Goodreads Giveaway'..

Reviews posted on Amazon, B&N & Goodreads.

[Phyllis Krall]

A historical saga filled with love, tragedy, heartbreak and hope. This story takes place during World War II and the Holocaust. It follows the lives of two families with diverse differences and shows how they become connected in unbelievable ways.

Otto and Ilya are twins who live in Germany and lead an unhappy childhood because of an abusive father. Otto becomes loyal to the Nazi party always looking out for his sister.

Morgan Rabinowiszch , a young Jewish girl, lives with her parents in Poland. Her family is religious and she leads a happy childhood, but always dreams of being an actress in the theatre. When she falls in love with a famous actor, she abandons her family and faith to tour with the theatre in other countries. When the Nazi’s invade Poland, Morgan goes home to search for her parents, her life becomes immeshed with the twins leading to tragedy, loss, and triumph.

I loved this Ebook which I received from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. I could not put it down and it tore at my heartstrings to read about the atrocities of war and the Holocaust.
Highly recommended!

[MiMi]

Wow. Just wow. Such a heartbreaking story to read; just like all the other stories written about the holocaust. The atrocities that these innocent people had to live through, first hand witnesses and victims to the crimes committed against their people. This was a very intricate story woven with many characters, along with their stories, to a bittersweet ending. Filled with tragedy, love, heartbreak, betrayal, lust, greed and power. It’s sickening to have to read through something like this and have it resonate with the world we are living in today.

Otto, Ilya (twins living in Germany), & Hans on one side, fighting for the Nazi’s.

While Morgan a bold & beautiful Jewish girl on the other.

When the Nazi’s invade Poland, Morgan goes back there to see her parents, not expecting the terrible events that unfold. This ultimately leads her down a path in which her life, to her, is basically over; one not worth living for.

Loved this book and would definitely recommend for those who are fans of historical fiction.

[Mary]

great book

[Rachel]

This 500+-page novel is good: the story line is mostly plausible and quite moving.

Unfortunately, for a reader like me, many of the weirdnesses (typos, recurrent misspellings, and odd references) disrupted my suspension of disbelief. Five examples:

* the surname of one of the main characters is "Wells," and she happens to attend "Wellsberry School;"
* the word "diametric" ("diametrically," actually) appears only twice in the entire novel, just a couple of pages away from each other;
* "aisle" is spelled as "isle" (also used only twice in the novel, but this time in two consecutive paragraphs!);
* every time the "supposed to" or "used to" syntactical construction (I don't know what tense it is) appears, it appears as "suppose to" or "use to," as in "I am suppose to go to the store" or "I use to go to the store."
* Deborah is considered and called one of the "Matriarchs" of Judaism; while Deborah *is* a significant woman in the bible and in Jewish lore, I have never heard her referred to as a "Matriarch," with the label of "Matriarch" reserved for Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. (I could be wrong about this issue; perhaps others do consider Deborah [who is referred to elsewhere as "Devora" in the novel, I might add:]a "Matriarch."

I know these issues might seem petty or small, but the inconsistencies and typos are signs of poor editing, in my opinion, which is a sign--to me--of the shoddiness of the publishing company and possibly the writer's research skills. Other readers may think I should have or could have overlooked these issues, but they jarred my reading experience, which annoys me.

I also know that reviews of these kinds of issues opens up the reviewer to similar criticisms, but a. I'm not being paid to write this review; b. I don't have an editor who was presumably paid to edit this review; and c. such is life: weirdnesses in writing usually hurt the writer's ethos and thus the writing's potency.

I will say, though, that I cried a few times and was enfuriated several, both indicative of the writer's ability to grab her (this) reader emotionally.

I would recommend this book to people who know something (enough to keep up with it) but who don't have extensive knowledge (too much to make the reading unenjoyable) about Judaism, the Holocaust, Russian political history, Israeli political history, and American industrial growth.

[Serena]

This book was awesome! The intergenerational stories, overlapping lives, history, strength, and threads pulling characters to and from was so enthralling and beautiful. Each part of this novel was well thought out and brilliant! I won this in a goodreads giveaway and I couldn’t be more grateful that I did.