Magda Goebbels (1901­1945) was arguably the most contradictory and intriguing of the women who lived alongside the top–ranking Nazis. Beautiful and intelligent, she went from being deeply in love with Zionist leader Victor Chaim Arlosoroff to marrying Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda; she turned from being a devoted mother of six and role model of Nazi–family values to becoming a Medea who poisoned her young children. Anja Klabunde’s impeccably researched biography explores how such an intelligent and charming woman could fall victim to fanaticism. The result is an absorbing account of a life that mirrors the tragedy and illusion of Germany in the first half of the 20th century.