What do you think?
Rate this book
Falling Star: The Curse of Lída Baarová
Aged and increasingly ailing European film icon Lída Baarová is taken care of by her stepmother Marcela, a woman five years her junior. As Lida becomes distraught by the effects of the Parkinson disease ravaging her body, and riddled with the fear of dying, her stepmother thinks up a way to distract her—she should recount her life, and leave a lasting legacy to her fans. For the next several months, Marcela records on paper as the actress tells her story.
In 1936, at the height of her career, the film star has it all—recognition, a man she loves, worshiping fans all over the continent. But when the all-powerful Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels lays eyes on her, everything changes. He pursues her relentlessly, and pressed both by fear and desire, she finally slips. It soon becomes clear this was the greatest mistake of her life.
The affair, though fairly brief, does not pass unnoticed by the terrifying, ever-watching conspirators. Immediately placed under surveillance by the infamous Gestapo, Lída Baarová is banned from acting, appearing in public, and forbidden from leaving the German Empire. With the help of a friend, she manages to flee Germany to her native Czechoslovakia. But her country no longer welcomes her. In fact, she now is regarded as an enemy of the state, a spy, a double agent. She is arrested, accused of high treason, and sent to the infamous Pankrác Prison. And it is from then on that the real tragedy of her truly begins.
From a childhood of both family little dramas and unconditional love to making her way to stardom in the 1930s to her fatal decision to accept Goebbels as her lover to the unrelenting tragedies ensuing afterward, Lída unspools a tale of startling naïveté, a doomed forbidden love affair, and the swiftness with which a worshipping world can turn against you.
In 1936, at the height of her career, the film star has it all—recognition, a man she loves, worshiping fans all over the continent. But when the all-powerful Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels lays eyes on her, everything changes. He pursues her relentlessly, and pressed both by fear and desire, she finally slips. It soon becomes clear this was the greatest mistake of her life.
The affair, though fairly brief, does not pass unnoticed by the terrifying, ever-watching conspirators. Immediately placed under surveillance by the infamous Gestapo, Lída Baarová is banned from acting, appearing in public, and forbidden from leaving the German Empire. With the help of a friend, she manages to flee Germany to her native Czechoslovakia. But her country no longer welcomes her. In fact, she now is regarded as an enemy of the state, a spy, a double agent. She is arrested, accused of high treason, and sent to the infamous Pankrác Prison. And it is from then on that the real tragedy of her truly begins.
From a childhood of both family little dramas and unconditional love to making her way to stardom in the 1930s to her fatal decision to accept Goebbels as her lover to the unrelenting tragedies ensuing afterward, Lída unspools a tale of startling naïveté, a doomed forbidden love affair, and the swiftness with which a worshipping world can turn against you.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 9, 2022
14 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
A.G. Mogan
15 books36 followersA. G. MOGAN has always loved history and the personalities that were born of bygone eras. Her interest for the world and its people fueled her passion for human analytics. She’s used her knowledge to analyze people and their behavior throughout her adult career, including using her in-depth research to craft poignant biographical novels that readers eagerly devour.
When not studying great historical figures or long-lost stories from the past, she can be found at her home in Europe, enjoying the spoils of a wonderfully ordinary family life.
When not studying great historical figures or long-lost stories from the past, she can be found at her home in Europe, enjoying the spoils of a wonderfully ordinary family life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 9, 2022
Mogan has done it again!
Every time I pick up a book written by A.G. Mogan, I’m fascinated at her ability to bring historical people to life and Falling Star is no exception. The subject of her new novel is Czechoslovakian actress, Lida Baarova. Known not only for her acting ability, Baarova was also mistress to Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda in Germany during the early 1940’s. Mogan transports the reader back in time and shows us how an association with the wrong man can lead to a lifetime of infamy. A great read for biography and world history fans.
Every time I pick up a book written by A.G. Mogan, I’m fascinated at her ability to bring historical people to life and Falling Star is no exception. The subject of her new novel is Czechoslovakian actress, Lida Baarova. Known not only for her acting ability, Baarova was also mistress to Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda in Germany during the early 1940’s. Mogan transports the reader back in time and shows us how an association with the wrong man can lead to a lifetime of infamy. A great read for biography and world history fans.
July 18, 2022
An extraordinary story
Lida Baarová seems to have fitted about 5 normal existences into her one frenetic life and the author has depicted this life in the most engaging way. The story is told in a way that explains Lida’s actions and reactions from her own point of view. This is the history of an extraordinary person living in extraordinary times. A compelling read that I thoroughly recommend.
Lida Baarová seems to have fitted about 5 normal existences into her one frenetic life and the author has depicted this life in the most engaging way. The story is told in a way that explains Lida’s actions and reactions from her own point of view. This is the history of an extraordinary person living in extraordinary times. A compelling read that I thoroughly recommend.
August 7, 2022
Falling Star: The Curse of Lída Baarová, by A.G. Mogan, is a fascinating story about a famous Czech actress, Lida Baarová, whose rise to fame just before the outset of WWII, catches the attention of film producers and Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's political propaganda man, who was instrumental in navigating the German populace into supporting the Nazi regime, who manipulates Lida into a romantic affair. As the war breaks out, Lida finds herself in a complicated moral stranglehold; she doesn't agree with the Nazi's, she doesn't support them, but her lack of moral compass keeps her attached to Goebbels despite the fact that he is married with children and is Hitler's vocal muscle. The convoluted real-life drama that ensues, follows the actress through the war period, and after, when she becomes the target of both Russian and American interests because of her close affair with Goebbels, and the very desperate roads she must follow to find her way out of the pit she finds herself in. The story is based on actual events; and while the author takes some literary license to fill in parts, overall this is a story, not so much inspiring, but certainly enlightening, showing what happens when fame steps over the line of morality and ethical boundaries, where personal lust and desire transcend propriety, and just how dark that road ahead can become when one continues to walk it. The perspectives, as seen from Lida's eyes, as she skirts the ominous world of Nazism, and her eventual realization of what she has done and her attempt to escape it all, makes for a very interesting read. Recommended.
November 28, 2024
This a story about a narcissist woman with no morals. Looking for men who were not available( the only one who was and really helped her was not of her liking). Always saw herself as a victim ,never assuming any responsability of her actions,never understood the demise of her own family was her own fault. Her family was collateral of her mistakes.
One bad choice and the consequences were for life.
One bad choice and the consequences were for life.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews