Hilde & Tommy - this is the authentic love story between Hilde, the youngest daughter of Fritz Gehr, director of the world-famous German NSU vehicle factory, and the legendary English motorcycle racer Tom "Tommy" Bullus. The book provides a unique insight into the eventful history of the company up to the end of the Weimar Republic as well as the incredible story of the exceptional talent Bullus. The author Susanne Schartel, great-granddaughter of the NSU director's family, skilfully interweaves the stories and personal notes of her ancestors with meticulously researched historical facts. She describes in a captivating way how fateful and momentous the first visit of the likeable chap from Yorkshire to Neckarsulm in December 1929 was for both sides. She also allows the reader to participate in the eventful life of the Swabian entrepreneurial family as well as the most important motorcycle racing events and other current affairs of the time. The richly illustrated biographical novel contains over 400 never-before-published documents and photographs from the family estate, the archives of various motoring organisations as well as from private collections and many other sources. Neckarsulm 1924: Hilde, the pretty youngest daughter of the NSU director, lives a carefree life full of comforts with her family at "Villa Gehr" on the edge of the factory grounds. Her father has been with the company for 20 years, which has developed from a knitting machine factory into one of the world's leading bicycle, motorbike and car manufacturers and is celebrating its 50th anniversary today. Hilde's light-hearted life is clouded in the late 1920s by the economic problems in the country and in her father's company. In addition, her two older sisters marry and move out of the family home. Hilde wonders whether she too will find her personal happiness one day. Will there be a dashing go-getter with heart and humour out there for her? Isle of Man 1925: a dream comes true for 18-year-old motorbike enthusiast Tom "Tommy" Bullus. He is finally here, in the place he has always longed for. For as long as he can remember, he has wanted to take part in the most important road race in the motorbike world, the famous Tourist Trophy. He was allowed to take part as a reserve rider and gets his chance: the main rider is injured in a crash during training. With a great deal of passion and a gigantic joy in his heart, the eventful racing career of the legendary Tom Bullus begins, which will take him from victory to victory, from the AVUS to Monza, from the Nürburgring to the Klausen Pass and all over Europe's race circuits and hill climbs. What could possibly stop him?

Anfang zwanzig verließ die gebürtige Stuttgarterin ihre Heimat, um für sechs Jahre in Kalifornien und Paris Betriebswirtschaft und das Leben zu studieren. 1993 folgte sie einem Job-Angebot von BMG Ariola und ließ sich in München nieder, um ihre erste Berufung in der Musikbranche zu finden. Nach zwölf turbulenten Jahren im Marketing internationaler Künstler war sie neugierig geworden, was das Leben sonst noch zu bieten hatte und ging ab vierzig diversen anderen Aktivitäten nach. Heute pendelt sie als freie Autorin, Texterin und Übersetzerin zwischen Starnberg und Stuttgart. "Dass mein Urgroßvater Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts Direktor der berühmten Neckarsulmer Fahrzeugwerke NSU gewesen und meine Großmutter mit Kindermädchen und Chauffeur aufgewachsen war, hatte ich in meiner Kindheit oft gehört. Sehnsüchtig erzählte Omi von damals und auch immer wieder von der unglaublichen (Liebes-)Geschichte ihrer kleinen Schwester Hilde mit dem feschen Engländer Tommy, der als Nummer eins des NSU-Werks-Rennteams in den Jahren 1930 bis 1932 alle wichtigen Motorradrennen in ganz Europa gewann und insbesondere bei den Bergrennen stets neue Rekorde aufstellte. Ich wusste schon immer, dass ich diese außergewöhnliche Geschichte eines Tages aufschreiben muss!" * * * In her early twenties, the Stuttgart native left her hometown to study business administration and life in California and Paris for six years. In 1993, she accepted a job offer from BMG Ariola and settled in Munich to find her first calling in the music industry. After twelve turbulent years in marketing international artists in Germany, she became curious about what else life had to offer and, from her forties onward, pursued various other activities. Today, she commutes between Lake Starnberg and Stuttgart as a freelance author, copywriter, and translator. "I often heard during my childhood that my great-grandfather had been the director of the famous Neckarsulm vehicle factory NSU at the beginning of the 20th century, and that my grandmother had grown up with a nanny and a chauffeur. She often longingly recounted that time, and also repeatedly talked about the incredible (love) story of her little sister Hilde with the dashing Englishman Tommy, who, as the number one rider in the NSU works racing team from 1930 to 1932, had won all the major motorcycle races across Europe and constantly set new records, especially in the hill climbs. I knew I had to write this extraordinary story down one day!"