Karen Bartlett

Dusty: Lost Icon

Critically acclaimed by The Telegraph and The Sunday Times as one of the best music books of 2014.

Dusty Springfield was one of the biggest musical stars of the twentieth century. From the launch of her solo career in 1963, and until her departure for Los Angeles a decade later, she was Britain’s biggest female star, with a glamour and voice that propelled her into a different league. She was, in almost every way, ahead of her time. For instance, she was the first British artist to appreciate the impact of Motown, and her love of its music led her to introduce Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes and Stevie Wonder to audiences through her TV shows. She was deported from apartheid South Africa in 1964 for refusing to play to segregated audiences, setting a precedent for a boycott of South Africa by entertainers which was much criticised at the time. In her personal life, Dusty broke the mould as the first female entertainer to admit that she was bisexual, a decision that was to overshadow the remainder of her career. This book is the definitive biography of Dusty Springfield, using new material, meticulous research and frank interviews with those closest to her, to compose an intimate and accurate portrait of the real woman behind the legend.

'The Paradise' in Bedford Square 3

An opening extract from Karen Bartlett’s novel The Paradise begins this new writing anthology of MA students from Royal Holloway with a foreword by Andrew Motion.

The Paradise tells the story of the introduction of Pass Laws, and Apartheid restrictions, in 1950’s Cape Town through the eyes of 15 yr old Barbara Miller, and her friends in a crumbling seaside hotel – weaving together the tensions of different communities and the human relationships that slip between the lines.

Karen completed the MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway and is represented by Gaia Banks at Sheil Land.

After Auschwitz: My Memories of Otto and Anne Frank. A Story of Survival

Written with “stark sensitivity…illuminating both the frailty and strength of the human spirit,” Karen’s account of the life of Eva Schloss, Anne Frank’s step-sister, is in the UK bestsellers list:

“Eva Schloss arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau at the age of 15. She and her mother survived, but her beloved father and brother did not.

Eva was a childhood friend of Anne Frank, and became her posthumous step-sister when her mother married Otto Frank after they both lost their spouses in the Holocaust.

Eva is working with journalist Karen Bartlett to tell her remarkable story, which spans the turbulent history of Europe in the Twentieth Century, and brings out the full horror, prejudice, loss – and occasionally the humanity – experienced by ordinary people during the Holocaust. She tells how she struggled to transform her life after the Holocaust and how she overcame intolerance, fear and discrimination by facing her own demons and how this enabled her to bring a message of hope and understanding to people from different backgrounds around the world.

As a co-founder of the Anne Frank Trust, Eva was thrilled when The Diary of Anne Frank became an international phenomenon. Eva continues to work for the Anne Frank Trust, and travels all over the world with a play about her life And Then They Came For Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank

Her message has influenced people from all walks of life ranging from diplomats and politicians to children and prisoners in high-security jails. She was awarded an MBE in this year’s New Year Honours for her work in schools raising awareness of prejudice and discrimination.

Eva said: ‘This book allows me to reflect on the history I witnessed of the last century’s hatred, persecution, and murder of millions of innocent people. I struggled for many years in silence to overcome the pain, humiliation and consequences of my personal loss. When I finally spoke out, I discovered my ability and responsibility to help others understand that we are resilient and capable of overcoming the most difficult circumstances. The life we have been given is precious and beautiful, and we should make the most of it. ’

The Health of Nations: The Campaign to End Polio and Eradicate Epidemic Diseases

‘Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.’ – Jonas Salk, inventor of one of the first successful polio vaccines

No one will die of smallpox again…

One of the worst killers ever is now consigned to history – perhaps the greatest humanitarian achievement of our age. Now polio, malaria and measles are on the hit list.

Karen Bartlett tells the dramatic story of the history of eradication and takes us to the heart of modern campaigns. From high-tech labs in America to the poorest corners of Africa and the Middle East, we see the tremendous challenges those on the front lines face every day, and how they take us closer to a brave new world.

Architects of Death: The Men Who Engineered the Holocaust

Topf and Sons designed and built the crematoria at the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald, Belzec, Dachau, Mauthausen and Gusen. At its height sixty-six Topf triple muffle ovens were in operation – forty-six of which were at Auschwitz.

In five years the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz had been the engine of the holocaust, facilitating the murder and incineration of more than one million people, most of them Jews. Yet such a spectacularly evil feat of engineering was designed not by the Nazi SS, but by a small respectable firm of German engineers: the owners and engineers of J. A. Topf and Sons. These were not Nazi sadists, but men who were playboys and the sons of train drivers.

They were driven not by ideology, but by love affairs, personal ambition and bitter personal rivalries to create the ultimate human killing and disposal machines – even at the same time as their company sheltered Nazi enemies from the death camps. The intense conflagration of their very ordinary motives created work that surpassed in its inhumanity even the demands of the SS. In order to fulfil their own `dreams’ they created the ultimate human nightmare.