What do you think?
Rate this book
Time No Longer
On the eve of World War II, twin brothers are divided by the murder of a German Jew, in this epic tale from New York Times–bestselling author Taylor Caldwell.
Karl Erlich loves his country. But these are dangerous times for Germany, whose poor and downtrodden have been seduced by an Austrian sign painter named Adolf Hitler. Karl’s twin brother, Kurt, a distinguished scientist, has already pledged his allegiance to the Third Reich, a regime that Karl finds cruel and oppressive. But he soon has even more reason to fear: There is talk of the Nazis singling out the Jews for extermination. Karl and Kurt’s younger sister, Gerda, is engaged to Eric Rheinhardt, a German Jew. Before Gerda and Eric can escape to America, Eric is arrested by the Gestapo.
Then the unthinkable happens, and in the wake of searing tragedy, Karl cuts all ties with his brother. A onetime candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature, he is no longer able to write, eat, or sleep. His wife, Therese, fears for his sanity. She knows she must get her husband away from the madness that is now Germany. But can she rescue her husband, who is rapidly becoming like their beleaguered Rhineland—inconsolable, frightened, and thirsting for revenge? As she seeks answers, unknowingly thrusting herself into harm’s way, Therese will discover the powerful ties that bind German to Jew, and come to realize that the only one way to save Karl is to save Germany.
Set in the years of the Nazis’ ascent to power, Time No Longer is at once a universal and intensely personal novel about the struggle against hate and fear that can elevate an ordinary man to extraordinary heights and the unassailable bond between two brothers.
Karl Erlich loves his country. But these are dangerous times for Germany, whose poor and downtrodden have been seduced by an Austrian sign painter named Adolf Hitler. Karl’s twin brother, Kurt, a distinguished scientist, has already pledged his allegiance to the Third Reich, a regime that Karl finds cruel and oppressive. But he soon has even more reason to fear: There is talk of the Nazis singling out the Jews for extermination. Karl and Kurt’s younger sister, Gerda, is engaged to Eric Rheinhardt, a German Jew. Before Gerda and Eric can escape to America, Eric is arrested by the Gestapo.
Then the unthinkable happens, and in the wake of searing tragedy, Karl cuts all ties with his brother. A onetime candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature, he is no longer able to write, eat, or sleep. His wife, Therese, fears for his sanity. She knows she must get her husband away from the madness that is now Germany. But can she rescue her husband, who is rapidly becoming like their beleaguered Rhineland—inconsolable, frightened, and thirsting for revenge? As she seeks answers, unknowingly thrusting herself into harm’s way, Therese will discover the powerful ties that bind German to Jew, and come to realize that the only one way to save Karl is to save Germany.
Set in the years of the Nazis’ ascent to power, Time No Longer is at once a universal and intensely personal novel about the struggle against hate and fear that can elevate an ordinary man to extraordinary heights and the unassailable bond between two brothers.
444 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1941
321 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Caldwell
152 books556 followers Also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner.
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 21, 2016
The world is going mad and Caldwell captures this very sentiment. Yet she also calls on her characters to act and do what they can in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. We are responsible to do what we are able and we must not give in to the darkness around us. In the midst of great evil, we must stand even though we know it will overtake us.
Want to read
September 17, 2021I am very fond of this book. I have read it twice. The first time I read it was 38 years ago when I was about 16 years old. I would’ve been in high school at that time. Oh I knew it was about Nazi Germany so I read it because I had been reading about that subject since I was 10 years old. I still read about it. A few months ago I started thinking about this book again for some reason. It was the first Taylor Caldwel novel that I had ever read I should add that since the time I was 16 years old I have interviewed several people that lived during that time in Germany and Poland. One of them spent time at Auschwitz and that person I met when I was 16 years old. I didn’t really interview them that much because I was a little bit nervous but since then I have done some history projects and met other people that lived there and talk to them about it. So, when I came to read this book a second time I realized that I didn’t really understand it the first time. I thought I did. This was the first Taylor Caldwel novel I had ever read so I wasn’t quite used to her theories on government.
After you’ve read several Caldwell novels you get a feeling for them although she cloaks them in different language and through the eyes of different characters. I suppose that is a talent and I suppose that is also why is she has written 40 novels. She died in 1985 a couple of years After my discovery.
I don’t know what made me read it a second time but I went away from that read just a shake and as I was the first time even though I understood this book in a very different light I think I say all this because her novel writing style is very much a kin to my spirit I enjoy her novels but in doses. But to get back to this one, since I’ve also read many different books on the subject I understand that this is the only one that I have read that covers psychological awakenings and how they happen or could happen and should happen and why they should happen. Every thing else I’ve ever read has been a historical account but this book deals with the concept that Germany wasn’t the only country to be affected by this theory but that it is a theory and ideal that it has shaped the entire world and even reading this book 80 years after she has written it I can see her point. I was very encouraged and surprised by her simple answer. Her answer was God. I don’t think I caught that in the first reading. I know that she has many takes on religion it usually is a character that’s completely jaded or one that is completely devoted but I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel written where miss Caldwell has ever posited God as the answer to what ails the world. I didn’t see her concentrating so much on the conspiracy theory that government wants to rule the world although I have actually come across that theory in other facets of my own life. Each of her novels is quite unique I think. This one left me shaken because at the end of it I missed some of the characters. When I looked at it from a perspective of Reading it from a simple story I understood that sometimes her per trails were a little dramatic but they get the point across. She does repeat herself constantly and I believe the point of that is to show Therese that more than one person feels this way. I noticed that her characters change from one moment to the next and that is a very human condition. She captures that very well. There were some things I had forgotten. I didn’t realize that she changed the dolls. It was interesting that Carl’s twin dies even though Carl throws the doll into the fire. I don’t know that he ever realized that his wife changed the dolls so that he would be the one to be suffering. They were both suffering but it wasn’t really because of the doll, it was because of the part each of them played in the seduction of Germany and it’s recovery. She writes about the US by the way but not in this book. I don’t think that she lets anybody escape her political theory. Not even Genghis Khan. :-) I think Taylor Caldwel is the only author I have read continually since discovering time no longer as a sophomore in high school. I did think that chapter 37 was a little too dramatic. :-) I thought that Teresa could’ve been a little more understanding but then that’s because she wrote a novel and I didn’t. :-) I don’t think this is a happily ever after book but it does get the point across and you hope that chapter 38 doesn’t turn out the way she says it might. There’s always hope that maybe he escapes the fate of so many others that his wife experiences in his psychological absence. I thought that Eric came to him and talked to him and she relayed that to us but I guess she didn’t. I did remember a couple of things from the first reading. I remembered the prosecutor finding the generals sword at his feet and thinking that it was heavy which represented a stronger Germany. I didn’t remember the doctor or the professor Miller. I realized that not only had I not completely understood this book but I had forgotten most of the characters. I thought it was a very insightful way of handling the whole subject. There is not a lot of action in this book so modern writing theorists probably would not approve of it. There is however enough action to justify the pages and pages of psychological journeys. As I read it and made my way through it’s my ass Mc psychological explanations I began to remember things. I remembered that Willhelm shots of Gestapo captain. I remember that there was a German general from the old school in this book but I didn’t remember that he and Therese were cousins. I like the way that book starts with Carl walking through the streets and the snow. I always think she has great descriptions. If she was never there you wouldn’t believe it from reading her descriptions. I don’t know if she got every cultural thing correct to every description correct but the idea of her novel was to disclose the fact that the world was being affected by this virus called national Socialism. The book left me shaken also because it made me laugh, cry, think and reflect on that time and the future. I think because I was familiar with the events of that time that I could relate to her theories more readily then say captains in the kings or the earth is the Lords. I wouldn’t say that if you’ve read one Taylor Caldwel novel you’ve read them all but there are definitely themes that run throughout all of her novels you just need to be prepared to ferret them out.
After you’ve read several Caldwell novels you get a feeling for them although she cloaks them in different language and through the eyes of different characters. I suppose that is a talent and I suppose that is also why is she has written 40 novels. She died in 1985 a couple of years After my discovery.
I don’t know what made me read it a second time but I went away from that read just a shake and as I was the first time even though I understood this book in a very different light I think I say all this because her novel writing style is very much a kin to my spirit I enjoy her novels but in doses. But to get back to this one, since I’ve also read many different books on the subject I understand that this is the only one that I have read that covers psychological awakenings and how they happen or could happen and should happen and why they should happen. Every thing else I’ve ever read has been a historical account but this book deals with the concept that Germany wasn’t the only country to be affected by this theory but that it is a theory and ideal that it has shaped the entire world and even reading this book 80 years after she has written it I can see her point. I was very encouraged and surprised by her simple answer. Her answer was God. I don’t think I caught that in the first reading. I know that she has many takes on religion it usually is a character that’s completely jaded or one that is completely devoted but I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel written where miss Caldwell has ever posited God as the answer to what ails the world. I didn’t see her concentrating so much on the conspiracy theory that government wants to rule the world although I have actually come across that theory in other facets of my own life. Each of her novels is quite unique I think. This one left me shaken because at the end of it I missed some of the characters. When I looked at it from a perspective of Reading it from a simple story I understood that sometimes her per trails were a little dramatic but they get the point across. She does repeat herself constantly and I believe the point of that is to show Therese that more than one person feels this way. I noticed that her characters change from one moment to the next and that is a very human condition. She captures that very well. There were some things I had forgotten. I didn’t realize that she changed the dolls. It was interesting that Carl’s twin dies even though Carl throws the doll into the fire. I don’t know that he ever realized that his wife changed the dolls so that he would be the one to be suffering. They were both suffering but it wasn’t really because of the doll, it was because of the part each of them played in the seduction of Germany and it’s recovery. She writes about the US by the way but not in this book. I don’t think that she lets anybody escape her political theory. Not even Genghis Khan. :-) I think Taylor Caldwel is the only author I have read continually since discovering time no longer as a sophomore in high school. I did think that chapter 37 was a little too dramatic. :-) I thought that Teresa could’ve been a little more understanding but then that’s because she wrote a novel and I didn’t. :-) I don’t think this is a happily ever after book but it does get the point across and you hope that chapter 38 doesn’t turn out the way she says it might. There’s always hope that maybe he escapes the fate of so many others that his wife experiences in his psychological absence. I thought that Eric came to him and talked to him and she relayed that to us but I guess she didn’t. I did remember a couple of things from the first reading. I remembered the prosecutor finding the generals sword at his feet and thinking that it was heavy which represented a stronger Germany. I didn’t remember the doctor or the professor Miller. I realized that not only had I not completely understood this book but I had forgotten most of the characters. I thought it was a very insightful way of handling the whole subject. There is not a lot of action in this book so modern writing theorists probably would not approve of it. There is however enough action to justify the pages and pages of psychological journeys. As I read it and made my way through it’s my ass Mc psychological explanations I began to remember things. I remembered that Willhelm shots of Gestapo captain. I remember that there was a German general from the old school in this book but I didn’t remember that he and Therese were cousins. I like the way that book starts with Carl walking through the streets and the snow. I always think she has great descriptions. If she was never there you wouldn’t believe it from reading her descriptions. I don’t know if she got every cultural thing correct to every description correct but the idea of her novel was to disclose the fact that the world was being affected by this virus called national Socialism. The book left me shaken also because it made me laugh, cry, think and reflect on that time and the future. I think because I was familiar with the events of that time that I could relate to her theories more readily then say captains in the kings or the earth is the Lords. I wouldn’t say that if you’ve read one Taylor Caldwel novel you’ve read them all but there are definitely themes that run throughout all of her novels you just need to be prepared to ferret them out.
March 27, 2017
Timely
A novel for today written about yesterday.. We a indeed doomed to repeat the sins of the past. Forgetting about GOD in our choices of leaders can only bring us a repeat of the past.
A novel for today written about yesterday.. We a indeed doomed to repeat the sins of the past. Forgetting about GOD in our choices of leaders can only bring us a repeat of the past.
July 6, 2020
It is 1933 and Hitler has come to power. Twin brothers, Karl and Kurt, on opposite sides of the current politics argue, resulting in the death of loved ones. Both seek revenge by turning on themselves. Amidst this is Therese, Karl's wife, who recognizing the madness in her husband seeks a way forward and in doing so comes to the realization of what one has to do to save themself and in this case, Germany.
Caldwell wrote this novel in 1941, so it represents the literary style of the time and lacks of the knowledge of future of Germany and the world. At its essence it is a treatise of what causes the rise of leaders like Hitler. Caldwell lets the man off the hook and allows the aristocrats, intellectuals, the military and religious leaders to all take part of the blame, suggesting that "hatred is the last weapon of weak people."
Caldwell wrote this novel in 1941, so it represents the literary style of the time and lacks of the knowledge of future of Germany and the world. At its essence it is a treatise of what causes the rise of leaders like Hitler. Caldwell lets the man off the hook and allows the aristocrats, intellectuals, the military and religious leaders to all take part of the blame, suggesting that "hatred is the last weapon of weak people."
January 7, 2020
Takes Patience!
This is the second Taylor Caldwell book I’ve read, the first being I, Judas, which I loved. I had forgotten that reading her requires strict attention to symbolism & patience. I thought that the first half of the book dragged since it focused so much on Therese’s feelings of despair & Karl’s descent. But the second half of the book was a reward for my sticking with it.. As Therese comes to understand what she must do, the book picks up. In addition, it’s a pleasure to pick through the passages to recognize the references to historical Christianity. I recommend this book for those who are ready for a serious read, and a look into a past that frighteningly mirrors our present time.
This is the second Taylor Caldwell book I’ve read, the first being I, Judas, which I loved. I had forgotten that reading her requires strict attention to symbolism & patience. I thought that the first half of the book dragged since it focused so much on Therese’s feelings of despair & Karl’s descent. But the second half of the book was a reward for my sticking with it.. As Therese comes to understand what she must do, the book picks up. In addition, it’s a pleasure to pick through the passages to recognize the references to historical Christianity. I recommend this book for those who are ready for a serious read, and a look into a past that frighteningly mirrors our present time.
January 18, 2020
This book dwelled into the emotional upheaval caused by the nazis in Germany. Most often we think all of Germany lining up behind Hitler and supporting his craziness. This book shows the emotional turmoil experienced by German people not yet part of the resistance and the changes they then go through until they decide to resist the influence of Hitler and the nazis.
It held my interest throughout.
It held my interest throughout.
May 30, 2020
A bit pretentious
I wasn't very impressed with this particular novel by the great Taylor Caldwell. It is overdone and much to worry and melodramatic. I believe it would have been much better later down by at least a third.
There were times it was hard to keep up with the ever changing thoughts of the main characters. The shrunken head aspect was ridiculous.
I don't believe I'll recommend this one.
I wasn't very impressed with this particular novel by the great Taylor Caldwell. It is overdone and much to worry and melodramatic. I believe it would have been much better later down by at least a third.
There were times it was hard to keep up with the ever changing thoughts of the main characters. The shrunken head aspect was ridiculous.
I don't believe I'll recommend this one.
February 15, 2021
Like all Taylor Caldwell novels it was extremely captivating and well written. For how depressing the content she wrote the book so well I was compelled to continue reading it. Extremely heavy content, but helped influence and shape my on-going search as to what makes the German people tick. It is probably one of the truest accounts of the reality of humanity during World War II. It is nothing to down-play.
January 7, 2020
This was a challenging book to listen to at first. It took a long time to get used to the writing style.
However, I am glad I stuck with it.
I even ended up marking passages, which I don't normally do with audio books. But some of the descriptions of people and politics are very scarily similar to today.
However, I am glad I stuck with it.
I even ended up marking passages, which I don't normally do with audio books. But some of the descriptions of people and politics are very scarily similar to today.
February 12, 2019
I think I'm a sucker for Taylor Caldwell. I love all her books. This book is about Nazi Germany but published in 1941, so only the beginning of the horror that was Germany. The German people did wake up, but not early enough.
January 27, 2022
Taylor Caldwell is a master of characterization. “Time No Longer” was strange and difficult to read, not for the masterful wording and cadence, but because nearly every paragraph required me to THINK and process. I was challenged, and engrossed.
May 22, 2020
Depressing, dark, not a happy reading at all!
September 25, 2020
It is a pre-WWII story in Germany, not my favorite genre. Also, in my opinion, it is very "wordy".
November 25, 2020
Disappointed
I have read other books by Taylor Caldwell. They were gripping stories about the characters. I was happy to finish this one, because it did nothing for me.
I have read other books by Taylor Caldwell. They were gripping stories about the characters. I was happy to finish this one, because it did nothing for me.
February 8, 2012
This book is set in WWII It is from the point of view of the ordinary German citizens as they watch what was happening in their country. They were in denial for a long time, until they could no longer deny what they were seeing before their eyes, until there was "time no longer". This is a compelling novel, asking us if we are really seeing what is going on around us.
May 30, 2016
Since this book was written in 1941, it is full of despair, horror and dreadful anticipation of what is to come. I have read many better books on this subject, but because this one is written at the moment when things were really beginning to happen, one can feel the fear. The language is somewhat stilted and the plot trite, but it is brother against brother and Germans against German Jews.
October 29, 2012
I like Taylor Caldwell's style most of the time. This book is set in Germany during Hitler's first years in power, and it gives an account of Krystal Nacht. However, it is mostly unbelievable. The characters aren't real.
April 11, 2017
I generally like Taylor Caldwell, but this book about Germany at the beginning of Hitler's regime seemed quite strange. The people in the main family were very weak. Just didn't seem too realistic to me.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews