University, Britain, where, to finance his postgraduate research, he wrote thirty-three steamy romances under a pseudonym. Gabriel is the author of many historical novels, including the bestsellers The Designer, The Ocean Liner, and The Parisians. Born in South Africa, he has travelled and worked in many countries, and now lives in Lincolnshire.
Gabriel applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, Goodnight, Vienna, and reported the following:
Readers who turn to page 69 will find my two main characters, Gretchen and Katya, putting an escaped pet rabbit back in its cage. The moment has resonances -- both the unhappy child (Gretchen) and the frustrated governess (Katya) feel themselves to be imprisoned by circumstances, and thrown together against their will. The bunny episode starts them talking about their feelings, and will (hopefully) start to ease the animosity between them.Follow Marius Gabriel on Twitter.
Although this isn't the most serious issue in the story, it's an important point, because life is about to get very dangerous for these two people, as the Nazis ruthlessly take over Austria. After the arrest of her father, young Gretchen is marked down by the SS for a horrible fate -- and Katya is her only hope of escape.
But saving Gretchen means taking serious risks for Katya herself. She will have to decide whether she cares enough about the child to take those risks.
As so often, page 69 indeed holds a key moment in the novel! I don't know how this works, but it does...
The Page 69 Test: The Parisians.
The Page 69 Test: The Girls in the Attic.
--Marshal Zeringue
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