The Einstein Vendetta

Hitler, Mussolini, and a True Story of Murder

De: Thomas Harding

Florence, August 1944. Fifteen miles southeast of the city, a unit of German soldiers arrive at Il Focardo, the home of Robert Einstein, first cousin of the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Nearby, Robert is hiding out in the Tuscan countryside, while his wife and daughters remain in the villa. Twelve hours later, Nina, Luce, and Anna-Maria are brutally murdered.

In The Einstein Vendetta, Thomas Harding recounts the story of an unthinkable crime, one that unspools to reveal Italy’s brutal wartime history—its fall to fascism, antisemitism, and bitter partisanship—and a family’s search for justice. Vividly told, Harding threads history and detective story to build an unquiet, haunting testimony.

©2026 Thomas Harding (P)2026 Union Square & Company

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Thomas Harding has carved out a significant reputation as a prize-winning writer, and The Einstein Vendetta makes for deeply shocking reading. This is a gripping, finely researched, superbly written and deeply important book."—Anna Sebba, Spectator

"Nazi brutality, and the resulting family pain and grief, is vividly recorded. The Einstein Vendetta shines a light on these forgotten lives and crimes and on the limits of post-war attempts to secure justice. Harding evokes time and place beautifully, while paying forensic attention to detail. The result is a slow burn of cliff-hangers to keep the pages turning."—Clare Mulley, Spectator

"Thomas Harding has carved out a niche unravelling unexplained events. The Einstein Vendetta shows that, although more than eighty years have passed since the Wehrmacht and the SS retreated from Tuscany, there is still substantial appetite to nail down the crimes they committed."—Caroline Moorehead, Literary Review