The Memoirs of Bridget Hitler

London/ Dallas, Texas: Duckworth, 1979. Hardcover. VG-/VG- (ex-library with labels and stamps on spine, block, inside front and rear covers and title page verso. Pages lightly age toned but otherwise clean.). Black cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; bw illustrated title page; 192 pp; bw illustrations. "Naive, Irish and seventeen years old, Bridget Dowling fell in love with Adolf Hitler's dashing half-brother, Alois. They left Ireland to marry and settled in England, in Liverpool, in 1910. This revealing and intimate account of Bridget's relationship with the Hitler family makes fascinating reading. Adolf's 'missing year' is plausibly accounted for: in 1912 Alois and Bridget meet the future Fuhrer off the train at Liverpool's Lime Street station. He is dirty, disheveled and ill and is a difficult guest in their home for several months. Bridget's marriage breaks down and Alois disappears; at eighteen, their son, William Patrick, decides to renew contact with his German uncle. Tension builds up when he makes several visits to Germany, finally deciding to seek employment there from 'Uncle Adolf'. Bridget follows him to Berlin in 1937. Her meeting with the Fuhrer at his idyllic residence in the Bavarian alps show just how far the 'spineless' young man of 1912 has changed. How she, and later her son, manage to escape the watchful eyes of Adolf and his bodyguards, makes this a gripping adventure story. These Memoirs cast new light on Adolf Hitler and his immediate family, particularly his extraordinary relationship with his niece. The unusually informal photographs portray a new side of the Fuhrer."--dust jacket.