Unbreakable : the woman who defied the Nazis in the world's most dangerous horse race

Unbreakable The woman who defied the Nazis in the world's most dangerous horse race

Richard Askwith

Book - 2019

Czechoslovakia, October 1937. Europe's youngest democracy is on its knees. Millions are mourning the death of the nation's founding father, the saintly Tomas Masaryk. Across the border, the Third Reich is menacing - and plotting to invade. In the Czechoslovak heartlands, vast crowds have gathered to watch the threatened nation's most prestigious sporting contest: the Grand Pardubice steeplechase. Notoriously dangerous, the race is considered the ultimate test of manhood and fighting spirit. The Nazis, as usual, have sent their paramilitary elite: SS officers schooled to be Hitler's most ruthless enforcers. Their mission: to crush - yet again - the "subhuman Slavs". The local cavalry officers have no hope of sto...pping them. But there is one other contestant: a silver-haired countess riding a little golden mare. The story of Lata Brandisová is one of the strangest and most inspiring in all sport. Born into privilege, she spent much of her life in poverty. Modest and shy, she refused to accept the constraints society placed on her because of her gender. Instead, with quiet courage, she repeatedly achieved what others said was impossible. The scandal of her first attempt to ride in Pardubice reverberated across Europe. Ten years later, she became her nation's figurehead in its darkest hour. Then came retribution... Unbreakable is a tale of courage, heartbreak and defiance, in an age of prejudice and fear. In the background are forces - sexism, class hatred, nationalism - whose shadows darken today's world too. In the foreground are eccentric aristocrats, socialite spies, daredevil jockeys - and a race so brutal that some consider merely taking part in it a sign of insanity. At its heart is a unique hero, and a unique love affair between a woman and a horse.

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Subjects
Brandisová, Lata.
Women jockeys > Czech Republic > Biography.
Great Pardubice Steeplechase, Czech Republic > History.
Nazis > Czech Republic.
Biographies.
Genres
Biographies
Published
New York : Pegasus Books 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Richard Askwith (author)
Edition
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition
Physical Description
426 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781643132105
  • 1. Old Women's Gorge
  • 2. The little countess
  • 3. Horseplay
  • 4. The dance of death
  • 5. Broken in
  • 6. The winds of change
  • 7. The breaking of nations
  • 8. A fresh start
  • 9. Riding out
  • 10. Allies
  • 11. The great game
  • 12. Stepping up
  • 13. The first hurdle
  • 14. Fight to the finish
  • 15. The outsider
  • 16. Mortality
  • 17. Norma
  • 18. The Germans
  • 19. Taking sides
  • 20. 'A woman? Bah ...'
  • 21. Himmler's cavalry
  • 22. October 1937
  • 23. The Battle of Pardubice
  • 24. Rejoice!
  • 25. The reckoning
  • 26. Brave new world
  • 27. The fall
  • 28. Enemy of the people
  • 29. In the woods
  • 30. The show goes on
  • 31. Journey's end
  • 32. The right stuff
  • 33. Epilogue: the good and faithful servant
  • Sources and notes
  • Notes
  • Acknowledgements
  • List of illustrations
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

In a follow-up to Today We Die a Little! (2016), about the legendary Czech Olympic runner Emil Zátopek, Askwith recounts the life story of another Czech athlete, equestrian trailblazer Lata Brandisová (1895-1981). While she is relatively unknown, even in her own country, her life story is both compelling and heartbreaking. Brandisová grew up in a world of aristocracy but lived in poverty most of her adult life. She defied gender norms to compete numerous times in the dangerous cross-country steeplechase race, the Velká Pardubická, or Grand Pardubice. In 1937, before a crowd of 40,000, she became the only woman to win the event, riding to victory on her beloved golden Kinsky mare, Norma. Together they bested a field of men that included several SS officers. Askwith, working with limited resources, admittedly speculates about some details and personal relationships, but he does a masterful job of setting Brandisová's story in the context of the world-changing events (WWII, the rise and fall of fascism and communism) that shaped her life. A significant contribution to international-sports and steeplechase history, this is a moving, well-told account of a courageous heroine devoted to God, family, country, and her horses.--Brenda Barrera Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

British sports journalist Askwith (Feet in the Clouds) traces the inspiring, heartbreaking story of Czech countess Lata Brandisová (1895--1981) in this rousing account. Born in 1895 into privilege on a family estate in what is now the Czech Republic, the shy, modest Brandisova grew into an expert horse rider as the Habsburg empire collapsed and Nazism spread throughout Europe. She battled chauvinism to become the first woman to participate in the grueling four-mile steeplechase horse race, the Grand Pardubice, displaying defiance and moral courage as she swept herself and her grieving country to victory over the Third Reich in 1937. Driven by pride as much as fearlessness, Brandisová demonstrated an unconquerable spirit, "the same brave, loyal spirit that animates the great heart of a horse." Once WWII started, however, she endured repressive Nazi and Communist regimes that confiscated the family lands. In 1948, Brandisová moved with her two sisters to a tiny, tumbledown cottage, where she suffered hunger, poverty, and obscurity until her death. Askwith rescues her remarkable, forgotten story through dogged detective work and lyrical prose. This is an intense roller coaster from start to finish. (Sept.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Biography of a Czech countess who "confront[ed] the warrior-athletes of the Third Reich in a sporting contest so extreme in its dangers that some would question its right to be called sport."Askwith (People Power, 2018, etc.) does admirable literary detective work in unearthing the remarkable story of Countess Lata Brandisov (1895-1981), whose early life coincided with an era of glittering aristocratic privilege followed by the catastrophic destruction brought on by World War I. Hailing from a large noble family with Austrian roots in a sprawling inherited estate in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), Lata was mostly home-schooled and largely "ungovernable." With her siblings, she ran wild throughout the estate grounds, and she was passionate about the horses acquired by her father, a former cavalry officer who had "limited cash but plenty of dash." Bohemian hunters were famous for their riding prowess, and many of the huntsmen were actually English expatriates who competed in the reckless steeplechase, a sport whose premier event was the Grand Pardubice. Yet the privilege to ride in itor folly for the horses, 29 of which have died during over the past 145 yearsfell to the men, at least until World War I shook up the "inertia of the age." Despite the abolishment of aristocratic titles and the breakup of her family's inherited lands, Lata grew in confidence and applied for an amateur jockey license in 1927. At the same time, her cousin was elected to the Prague Jockey Club and introduced her to her first equine partner, and she ran her first Grand Pardubice, with disastrous results. Askwith depicts suspensefully Lata's amazing mettle and perseverance over the next few years despite the notorious difficulty of the race. In 1937, riding against the Nazi-owned top-of-the-line horses ("Himmler's Cavalry"), Lata won, to the astonishment of 40,000 spectators "mad with joy."Thanks to this intrepid author, Lata Brandisov re-enters the hall of champions to inspire those who come after her. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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