Philipp Vandenberg

Philipp Vandenberg (born September 20, 1941 in Breslau ; actually Klaus Dieter Hartel ) is a German author of non-fiction books on archaeological topics as well as historical and detective novels .

Life

After the Second World War, Vandenberg spent his childhood with a foster mother and in the orphanage in Altötting / Upper Bavaria. He attended the Kurfürst-Maximilian-Gymnasium in Burghausen an der Salzach . In this ancient language grammar school, the foundations for the later writing career and the pronounced historical interest of Vandenberg were laid. He passed his Abitur in 1963 and then studied art history and German literature in Munich . In 1965 he did an internship at the Passauer Neue Presse , which made him editor-in-chief of the Burghauser Anzeiger in 1967 . In 1968 he worked for several months as a news editor for the Münchner Abendzeitung . From 1968 to 1974 he worked for the illustrated magazine Quick and from 1974 to 1976 as literary editor for the magazine Playboy . Since then he has been a freelance writer under the stage name Philipp Vandenberg.

Vandenberg's career as a non-fiction author began in 1973. He took his annual leave and researched the " curse of the Pharaoh " in Egypt . About the mysterious death of 30 archaeologists, he published the book Der Fluch der Pharaonen in 1973 , which became a world bestseller and started Vandenberg's new career as one of the most successful non-fiction authors in Germany. Vandenberg's historical non-fiction books: Nefertiti (1975) and the illustrated book: Nefertiti, Akhenaten and their time (1976) were also on the bestseller lists . It was followed in 1977 by the equally successful volume Ramses, which offers a biography of the great Egyptian pharaoh from the point of view of the archaeologists.

In the 80s, books like Nero solidified . Kaiser and God, Artists and Fools (1981) and Caesar and Cleopatra (1986) Vandenberg's fame as the author of historical non-fiction books, which now also include historical novels. His novel Der Pompeianer (1986) was inspired by a trip to Pompeii to see the "plastered bodies" of the Stabian thermal baths. Vandenberg achieved his greatest successes in this area with the titles Sistine Conspiracy (1988) and The Fifth Gospel (1993).

All of his books were always preceded by extensive research on site. Despite their fictional actions, his books mark out precise historical and geographical details of the respective locations, be it the pyramids in Egypt, the innermost rooms of the Vatican or knowledge of a medieval cathedral building, as in his most recent novel The Forgotten Parchment (2006). Vandenberg changed from a non-fiction author to a novelist.

To date, Philipp Vandenberg has written around 31 books, all of which have become bestsellers. Its circulation is given in 2013 with 25 million. His books have been translated into 34 languages.

Vandenberg has remained true to his Upper Bavarian homeland to this day. With his second wife Evelyn (née Aschenwald), whom he married in 1994 and who became his manager, he lives alternately in the Upper Bavarian village of Baiernrain / Dietramszell and for 12 years in his second home in the so-called "Schergenturm" of Europe's longest castle complex in Burghausen, which dates from the 15th century. Here he was inspired to write his first medieval novel, The Curse of Copernicus .

The first marriage resulted in a son Sascha (* 1965). Vandenberg's hobby is collecting vintage cars and phonographs .

In 2010 his novel The Golgotha Files was filmed with the title The Golgotha ​​Files .

Works (selection)

Non-fiction

• The curse of the pharaohs . Scherz, Bern, Munich 1973; Paperback: Bergisch Gladbach, Bastei Lübbe 2003, ISBN 3-404-00426-4 .
• Nefertiti, Akhenaten and their time . Scherz, Bern, Munich 1976, published as paperback in 1994 by Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach.
• Ramses the Great . Scherz, Bern, Munich 1977, paperback Bastei Lübbe 2002.
• On the trail of our past . 1977.
• The forgotten pharaoh . Bertelsmann, Munich 1978; Paperback: Bergisch Gladbach, Bastei Lübbe 2002.
• The secret of the oracles . Bertelsmann, Munich 1979, paperback Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2000.
• Nero. Emperor and God, artist and fool . Bertelsmann, Munich 1981, paperback Bastei Lübbe 2000.
• The sunken Hellas . 1984, paperback Bastei Lübbe 1987.
• Caesar and Cleopatra . 1986, paperback Bastei Lübbe 2000.
• The secret rulers . 1991, paperback Bastei Lübbe 1999.
• The valley. In the footsteps of the pharaohs . 1992. Also published under the title The Valley of the Pharaohs .
• Priam's treasure. How Heinrich Schliemann invented his Troy . 1995. Paperback in the series Bastei Lübbe 1999. ISBN 3-404-61423-2 .

Historical novels

• The gladiator . Heyne, Munich 1982.
• The hetaera . Heyne, Munich 1984. Also under the title Daughter of Aphrodite . Bergisch Gladbach, Lübbe 2003 published.
• The Pharaoh . Heyne, Munich 1984.
• The Pompeian . Bergisch Gladbach, Lübbe 1986.
• Applause when the piece is good . Bertelsmann, Munich 1988. Also under the title Augustus - The Secret Diaries by Bastei Lübbe, published in 2002 as a paperback.
• The king of Luxor . Bergisch Gladbach, Lübbe 2001.
• The forgotten parchment . Luebbe 2006
• The tightrope walker's wife . Luebbe 2011

Detective novels

• The Pompeian . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1986
• Sistine conspiracy . Luebbe 1988.
• The pharaoh plot . Luebbe 1990.
• The fifth gospel . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1993, ISBN 3-40412276-3 .
• The green scarab . Luebbe 1994.
• The curse of Copernicus . Lübbe 1996, as paperback Bastei Lübbe 2003.
• The mirror maker . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1998.
• Purple shade . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1999, as paperback Bastei Lübbe 2002.
• The Golgotha ​​file . Luebbe 2003.
• The forgotten parchment . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2006.
• The 8th sin . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2008

Audio books

• Sistine Conspiracy (2004)
• The forgotten parchment (2006)
• The fifth gospel (10/2007)
• The 8th Sin (04/2008)
• Golgotha ​​file (06/2008)
• Purple shadow (9/2009)
• The King of Luxor (2010)
• The tightrope walker's wife (2011)

literature

• Edith Rabenstein : In the past, someone like me would have been burned. With the "Curse of the Pharaohs" Philipp Vandenberg began his career as a bestselling author. He celebrated his 30th anniversary as a writer in Burghausen - where he still has a home , in: Alt-Neuöttinger Anzeiger from May 2, 2006.

Web links

• Hans Dietrich Hartel in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Literature by and about Philipp Vandenberg in the catalog of the German National Library
• Interview on kultur-base.de from May 20, 2012