Historical fiction

Proletarian Hearts: Part One

In this historical novel set in 1907, young writer Otto Haberle travels to Vienna and meets aspiring artist Adolf Hitler aboard the train. Their friendship begins against a backdrop of artistic ambition and a future that will have far-reaching consequences.

Type: Fiction
Form: Novel
Collection: Proletarian Hearts

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Beyond the book

The Vienna of Proletarian Hearts ↗

Why choose this book?

Choose this historical novel for an opening built around travel, artistic ambition, and the beginnings of a friendship. Its characters encounter one another on the way to Vienna.

What to expect

The premise places Otto Haberle and a fictionalized young Adolf Hitler in 1907. Invented scenes are part of the novel’s form.

Before you begin

Use the historical-context page to distinguish fiction from documented history. This first part precedes the second part in the narrative.

Discussion guide · Compare your choices

Before you begin

These works are connected; no author-confirmed sequence is recorded.

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Questions for your reading

What expectations does Otto’s wish to pursue writing create before he reaches Vienna?

Where to read next

Proletarian Hearts: Part Two
Another connected work; this does not prescribe an order.
Stack It Tall: A Guide to Writing
A shared reading question connects these books.
The Director
A shared reading question connects these books.

Questions for your reading · Reader’s glossary

Plan your reading

Supplied manuscript: 60,841 extracted words. This describes the supplied text, not a verified count for every retail edition.

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Connected works; order not confirmed.

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Planning estimate: about 4–7 hours at 150–300 words per minute. Poetry, rereading and note-taking can take longer; this is not a retail-edition length claim.

Is this part of a collection?

This work belongs to Proletarian Hearts. No author-confirmed reading sequence is recorded.

Chapter One — selected excerpt

Author-supplied manuscript; opening selection beginning at paragraph 1. Paragraph numbering follows non-empty body paragraphs in the supplied file. © Paul Haedo. This is a short excerpt, not the complete chapter.

Chapter One

The Austrian air was dry and cold as Otto Haberle raced to the train station; he did not want to be late. It was a February morning, with spring still months away. Patches of snow adorned the quiet little town of Braunau am Inn, and the sidewalks still had a shiny covering of sleet from last night’s snowfall. Otto narrowly avoided slipping on each and every street corner as he raced to the station; he, after all, could not rely on his cheap pocket watch.

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