Lynley Smith was once the editor of the Stratford Press, now she is a published author of a successful book, which is to be introduced to a new audience after being translated into Hungarian.
Lynley's book From Matron to Martyr: One Woman's Ultimate Sacrifice for the Jews, tells the story of her relative, Jane Haining. Jane was a missionary at an orphanage in Budapest in the 1940s and was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 after she refused to leave the country, saying "her children" needed her more than ever before. She was accused of being a spy and eventually died in Auschwitz.
Lynley has been giving talks to various groups around the country about her book and the experience of researching it. On a recent visit to Hungary, where Lynley describes the political situation as being "worrying" with a large number of right wing politicians having seats in parliament, she was put into contact with a group called Foundation of Hope. This group, says Lynley, has been giving talks around Hungary on the history of persecution in the country, in the hope that history won't repeat itself. One of the group, Andrea Simonyi, read Lynley's book and said it epitomised what the group were trying to say, that "it is about what love looks like". With this in mind, the group and Lynley have been working to get the book translated into Hungarian and then published there. Lynley secured a meeting with one of the largest publishers in Hungary, Libri, which has agreed to launch the book at the Budapest International Book Fair.
Lynley will be in Stratford giving a talk on "the story behind the story" at the Anglican Church lounge on December 12 this year at 7.30 pm.