Hans Eichner was born into a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria in 1921. He escaped from the Nazis to Belgium, then England.  After earning a Ph.D. at the University of London, Eichner immigrated to Canada, where he became Head of the German Department at the University of Toronto and a widely published author of books on German Romantic literature.  Hans Eichner now lives in Rockwood, Ontario.  Kahn & Engelmann, his first novel, was a critical and commercial success in Austria and Germany.