From Kalkhorst to Troy: In *Troy, Late Afternoon*, Gregor Sander recounts the adventurous life of Heinrich Schliemann with wit and verve.
A Man from Mecklenburg in Search of Troy—and One of the Stories Right on Our Doorstep
Anyone driving along Heinrich-Schliemann-Straße in Kalkhorst will spot a sign by the roadside referring to a famous former resident of the town. A narrow path leads through the old parish garden to a small octagonal pavilion. It is said that nearly 200 years ago, a boy sat here studying Latin. His name: Heinrich Schliemann. For about a year and a half, from 1832 to 1833, he lived with his uncle, the Kalkhorst pastor Friedrich Schliemann. For Christmas 1832, he gave his father a Latin essay he had written himself about the Trojan War. Decades later, he would become world-famous as the discoverer of Troy.
Gregor Sander explores this life—as adventurous as it is contradictory—in his novel *Troja, später Nachmittag* (*Troy, Late Afternoon*). He tells the story of a boy from Mecklenburg who dreams of the big, wide world, of a man who makes a fortune as a merchant, travels halfway around the globe, and constantly reinvents himself. His path takes him from Amsterdam to Saint Petersburg, on to America, and finally to Greece. Yet despite all his success, two great longings remain: one for the heroes and settings of ancient legends—and the other for his childhood sweetheart, Minna, who has long since married someone else.
Gregor Sander tells this story with pace, wit, and a keen sense of his protagonist’s contradictions. For Schliemann was not only an explorer, adventurer, and businessman, but also a gifted storyteller who did not always take the truth about his own life too seriously. He later embellished his own biography extensively, thereby helping to shape his own legend. What is historically verified, and what is invented? And does that even matter for a good novel?
“Troy, Late Afternoon” is a novel that is as entertaining as it is insightful, exploring ambition, longing, love, and the power of literature. And it tells the story of a man from Mecklenburg who felt at home all over the world yet could never quite shake off his roots.
Gregor Sander, born in Schwerin in 1968, lives in Berlin as a writer. His novels and short stories have received numerous awards. “Troy, Late Afternoon” was published in 2026 by Penguin.
