The Lilac People

For readers of All the Light We Cannot See and In Memoriam, 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 while protecting the ones he loves.

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Released on April 29, 2025 from Counterpoint Press

About the Book

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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Early Praise for The Lilac People

The Washington Post, A Noteworthy Book of April
Goodreads, A Most Anticipated Title
LGBTQ+ Reads, A Most Anticipated Book

“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)