Children of the Night: The Strange and Epic Story of Modern Romania

Written by Paul Kenyon

Narrated by Paul Kenyon

A vivid, brilliant, darkly humorous and horrifying history of some of the strangest dictators that Europe has ever seen.
'A witty and page-turning narrative full of grotesque characters' Misha Glenny

'Kenyon relates all this with verve [and] humour ... He patiently untangles the complicated webs of loyalty and enmity' Literary Review

'Absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in Romania past and present' John Simpson

Balanced precariously on the shifting fault line between East and West, Romania's schizophrenic, often violent past is one of the great untold stories of modern Europe.

The country that gave us Vlad Dracula, and whose citizens consider themselves descendants of ancient Rome, has traditionally preferred the status of enigmatic outsider. But this beautiful and unexplored land has experienced some of the most disastrous leaderships of the last century.

After a relatively benign period led by a dutiful King and his vivacious British-born Queen, the country oscillated wildly. Its interwar rulers form a gallery of bizarre characters and extreme movements: the corrupt and mentally unbalanced King Carol; the fascist death cult led by Corneliu Codreanu; the vain General Ion Antonescu, who seized power in 1940 and led the country into a catastrophic alliance with Nazi Germany. After 1945 power was handed to Romania's tiny communist party, under which it experienced severe repression, purges and collectivisation.

Then in 1965, Nicolae Ceau?escu came to power. And thus began the strangest dictatorship of all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Jan 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781800247673

Paul Kenyon

Paul Kenyon is a distinguished BBC correspondent and BAFTA award-winning journalist and author. He has reported from danger-zones around the world for BBC Panorama, pushing the boundaries of investigative journalism and asking the questions many wouldn't dare – from tackling Gaddafi's son in a cage full of lions, to secretly filming Iran's secret nuclear sites. Kenyon is the recipient of an Association of International Broadcasters Award, three Royal Television Society awards, and is the author of Dictatorland, a Financial Times Book of the Year. He lives in London with his wife, Flavia.

Reviews for Children of the Night

[Bundestalk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As somebody who got in touch with Romania more closely during the 1980s through my (German) mother's humanitarian activities, her even involving her long term friend former Chancellor Helmut Kohl in order to press the communist authorities to finally let her transports with much needed material for hospitals (as well as basic food including then exotic products like chocolate) into Romania, I think I've got a glance of what was going on in the dark Ceausescu era and followed Romania more closely ever since.

Having an obvious interest in the now EU member state and being eager to understand more about the origins for the brutality in the communist era and the following era of former communist leader's grip in the country and its endemic corruption and crimes (of which core elements have survived to date) this masterful piece of history telling, and vivid storytelling is just amazing.

This brilliant work absolutely exceeded my expectations. The author has succeeded in describing the historic and human development of this country by skillfully combining lot of important historic facts and data, ranging from the real Dracul(a) to the great wars between the Ottoman and Christian rulers in the 16th century to the Kingdom of the former German officer and his British wife Marie up until the communist rule came down and finally have way to the current democratic Romania.

The vivid description and the depicting of the atmosphere during the historic periods but also the many of the profoundly shockingly brutal campaigns against innocent minorities, first and foremost of the Jewish minority by the feudal system, then by fascists in Romania, later supported by Nazi Germany in what is being described as the specifics of the Romanian Holocaust, all that takes you into the time and the places when and where it happened.

I would recommend this book in print and an audio as a leading work for everybody who wants to know how Romania became what it is today. The quality is as such that it would perfectly serve as a source for politicians, diplomats, students and schoolchildren.

Everybody who has an interest in this very unique European country should have read this book.

I commend the author for this personal undertaking which has turned out to be a brilliant piece of history telling. Thank you for that!


Stefan Schwarz


P.S.There is an obvious sympathy one can detect for the British-born Queen of Romania, Marie, in the descriptions of her by the British author. I did not know about her but tend to feel sympathetic of her after having read this book.
I just wonder how and why she could stand the pogroms initiated, tolerated or overseen by her husband, the Germany/born king.

[Janna Brock · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. That’s saying a lot. The history of Romania is truly jaw dropping. This is like a thriller and a camp horror movie all in one. It’s unbelievably brutal with biting wit. The survival of the people against such atrocities says it all. Thank you Paul Kenyon for this masterpiece.