The Imposter

by Johanna van Zanten

Johanna is one of the daughters of a migrant cobbler from the eastern backwoods of Pomerania, born in the German Empire of the 1880s. Aching for a life of accomplishment and respect, she resolves to escape her dad's fate of early death, the stigma of his mixed Slavic-German heritage, and the poverty that followed him. A headstrong girl, she refuses to be exploited as a housemaid for a wealthy family— the only choice for girls like her. She loses her job when the master of the house tries to rape her. With nothing to lose, she accepts a job as the concession shop operator with the railroad. On the first day of work, she sets up shop (and home) in an empty passenger railcar and meets Hendrik, a Dutchman, and the construction superintendent. Head over heels, they marry when Johanna becomes pregnant. It doesn't take long before the first babies arrive and continue within three years, Johanna delivers five children. The couple buys a farm with their savings in Hendrik's hometown. Then Johanna’s real test of loyalty starts when the Nazis invade.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

350 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Johanna was born in the Netherlands where she lived in Amsterdam after graduating from secondary school. She immigrated to Canada in her early thirties, where she still lives. Johanna lives a nice half year in the sun in Mexico where she wrote her third novel Between A Rock and a Hard Place, a novel based on true events in the Second World War in the Netherlands. A fourth novel will be published in 2024: The Imposter. Who knows how many more novels will follow?
Guardians' Betrayal, her second novel is about a fictional family who adopted two girls. That story begins seven years after adoption when the girls are 12 and 17 and the fun begins.
Her first novel, On Thin Ice, is a book-in-stories about Life, and Dating after Fifty. Her second novel is Gardians' Betrayal, about a complicated adoption, and her third novel is Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2021).
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Reviews

[Lyn Stapleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story of a young girl born in the German empire in the late nineteenth century. It tells of her struggle to overcome the stigma of her Slavic heritage and the poverty she grew up in, her marriage to a Dutchman and her survival of two world wars. It is based on the life of the author’s grandmother.

[Elizabeth Cummings]

An enlightening read about the Netherlands and Germany during the periods around the Great Wars as seen through sympathetic characters.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get enough of stories with strong female characters who, when the chips are down, take risks that require them to grow, change and learn their own power.

Johanna van Zanten delivers on that score in this well-researched historical fiction novel inspired by her parents, who lived through the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during WW II.

Young protagonist Johanna, born in the 1880s to impoverished parents in Osterode, Germany, chafes at the idea of living the same life as her parents: married with lots of children and barely able to keep them fed.

After ditching her job as a housemaid when the master of the house attempts rape, Johanna finds a job running a concession stand at a railroad and so strikes out on her own.

She does marry, have kids and work hard, but throughout her life, she boldly meets every challenge: struggling through the deprivations of WW I; surviving the Spanish Influenza; moving to Holland where she feels like a stranger; learning to run a farm; handling the death of a spouse; and living through WW II.

The author clearly did her homework regarding the various locations, history and cultures. She also did a wonderful job of depicting a girl searching for how she fits into the world. Best of all, the book shows her living a brave and interesting life.