The year is 1943: the war starts to close in on the Netherlands and hiding is dangerous. Frans and Henriëtte decide to flee to London, where they meet each other by chance. Cut off from their homeland, they jump head-first into their new lives – and a serious love affair. They create a unique way of living together and the temporary state of their affair makes it even more special. They know this will not last forever. When the war is over, Frans will return to his family in the Netherlands.

I Told You So is a novel about the cruel necessity of love during the harshest times, full of sharp observations and beautiful sentences

‘Josepha Mendels created an image of the independent woman in a magnificent way, humoristic and poetic. No one wrote more enthralling about sexuality in a time when writing about sexuality was not done.’ – De Tijd

Who was Josepha Mendels? [..] We get close to an answer in Je wist het toch from 1948 that has deservedly been republished by Cossee. Even though it’s fiction, the main character of the biography, Henriette, actually really comes to life in the novel. Mendels must have been that kind of person: a woman that was totally alone in life, but with humour and good spirits made the best of it. An emotional, witty woman that would rather be considered harsh than pitiful.’ – de Volkskrant****

‘Josepha Mendels created an image of the independent woman in a magnificent way, humoristic and poetic. No one wrote more enthralling about sexuality in a time when writing about sexuality was not done.’ – de Tijd

‘Josepha Mendels shows the reader a world where the female voice is leading. In which the men are mostly astonishing. Thus the roles are reversed.’ – Anna Bijns jury, 1986