I first released the print edition of Hitler and Mars Bars in 2008. After some minor revisions were made to the manuscript, the novel will be available as an Amazon ebook on Friday, 28^th September.

Would you be interested in reading it? I don’t know but I’ll tell you a bit about the story and you can decide. Hitler and Mars Bars is the tale of a remarkable child and era. Loosely based on historic events, this novel evokes a little known episode in German and Irish history. It is the story of a young boy’s physical and emotional journey from the war-torn Ruhr area of Germany to post-war rural Ireland.

Set against the backdrop of the little known Red Cross humanitarian aid endeavour, Operation Shamrock, it is the story of Erich, a German boy growing up alone in Ireland. He dreams of finding his mother. He yearns for a family who will love and keep him forever. He learns his brother is his ally not his rival. Plucky and resilient he surmounts the challenges his ever changing world presents. Caught in war’s vicelike grip and flung into a new land he must grow and forge a new life.

Reviews have said:

“It’s a riveting story…As a novel it is extraordinarily well researched…. Beautifully written with a strong human story running through it…” Brian D’Arcy, BBC broadcaster, Sunday World columnist, author

“An endearing story…Ascroft is superb in telling the story from Erich’s point of view…The story is both vivid and moving…” News Letter (Belfast)

If what I’ve told you intrigues you, check out Hitler and Mars Bars as an Amazon ebook from Friday, 28^th September.