The Lilac People

2025 New England Book Award Finalist, Fiction
The Washington Post, A Noteworthy Book of April
Goodreads, A Most Anticipated Title
LGBTQ+ Reads, A Most Anticipated Book

"Reminiscent of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See . . . Heart-stopping in its suspense and dramatic reveals." —The Boston Globe

A moving and deeply humane story about a trans man who must relinquish the freedoms of prewar Berlin to survive first the Nazis then the Allies, all while protecting the ones he loves.

In an oil painting-like motif, a white young man stands with his back to the viewer. He's dressed in a brown flat-cap, a white work shirt, dark-colored trousers, and striped suspenders. Above him is a sky full of clouds, variously colored in off-white, a light orange or dark tan color, and lilac. A hint of a few birds fly in the far distance. The young man stands in a wheat field, his hands suggesting that they're grazing over the wheat. A newspaper texture is over the wheat field. Across the entire design is "THE LILAC PEOPLE" and "MILO TODD" in dark, bold font, presented jaggedly down the whole cover. The words "a novel" are between the title and the author's name in a delicate, lilac cursive.

In 1932 Berlin, Bertie, a trans man, and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond, but everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There, they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.

In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation becomes fleeing to the United States.

Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an occluded moment of trans history.

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Praise for The Lilac People

"In dual timelines, Milo Todd thoughtfully portrays the plight of queer and transgender people in Germany before and after World War II."—Becky Meloan, The Washington Post

"Heightening the contrast between the trans experience pre- and post-Hitler, Todd uses chapters alternating between Bertie’s beautiful Berlin life and his eked-out 1940s existence on the farm where he and Sofie hid under aliases throughout the war. Against this tragic setting, the elegance of Todd’s prose plants wonder in the reader’s mind . . . Exhaustively researched, gorgeously crafted and presciently timed, The Lilac People exhumes a buried history that could leave us mourning our lost democracy if we don’t learn from, and act on, its tragic lessons."—Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times

"Milo Todd’s breathtaking debut, The Lilac People, unearths an essential chapter in transgender history, one long obscured by stigma and oppression . . . Well-paced and expertly crafted, the novel’s shifting timelines and intricate plot structure are reminiscent of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. Its propulsive narrative, at times heart-stopping in its suspense and dramatic reveals, is interwoven with rich descriptions and historical passages that give context to a society held in the brutal grip of fascism . . . In the vast canon of World War II historical fiction, The Lilac People is wholly unique and original. The novel offers a fresh and timely perspective, illuminating the inclusion of a much-needed historical trans narrative, one that celebrates the soul-sustaining life force of community."—Olivia Kate Cerrone, The Boston Globe

"A heartbreaking chronicle of the rise of Nazi Germany’s trans community and its swift eradication . . . With this beautiful, necessary story, full of enthralling action and sharp moral questions, The Lilac People reminds history of what happened to the trans community during WWII, and asks us to see it as a warning for what might be happening in this country today. Happily, it also announces an important new voice in American fiction."—Jeffrey Condran, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Stirring . . . In Todd’s hands, this vital chapter of LGBTQ+ history comes to life, as the characters find a means to survive through found family. This timely historical drama hits hard." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"By turns exuberant, nerve-wracking, and heart-wrenching, The Lilac People is a harrowing novel about the marginalization of queer and transgender people during World War II." —Isabella Zhou, Foreword Reviews (starred review)

"Integrating imagined characters with historical research, Todd brings humanity and specificity to atrocities that are still being uncovered. The heartbreaking result honors love and friendship, and ends with hope for one built family of survivors . . . The Lilac People is emotionally wrenching, but also lovely in its details, the humanity of its characters, and the resilience and hope at its end, when a fresh start seems possible. Todd has made an enormous contribution to historical fiction with his own research and this beautiful, touching narrative." —Julie Kastner, Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Todd’s detailed narrative conveys the terrors and uncertainties of life during wartime: the inability to trust even close neighbors or loved ones’ true identity; the fear of attack; the wrenching horror of trying to make sense of who lived and died. The ambitions and joys of Berlin’s queer community are equally well drawn . . . Todd vividly illustrates the power of love and community in the face of oppression." —Kirkus Reviews

"This beautifully wrought historical novel about a trans man’s resilient survival through the promising Weimar Republic to Nazi Germany to the still-oppressive Allied occupation is a poignant reminder that history may not repeat itself, but it surely rhymes . . . Milo Todd paints a rich portrait of this often-overlooked period of queer history with protagonists who might be fictional, but represent the tenacity and hope of queer individuals past and present." —Katherine Ouellette, WBUR

"Not only is The Lilac People a moving story, it might also be a roadmap of how we move forward." —Michelle Hart, Electric Literature

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