On 2 March 1998 ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was snatched off the street by a stranger and bundled into a white van. Hours later she found herself in a dark cellar, wrapped in a blanket. When she emerged eight years later, her childhood had gone. In "3,096 Days" Natascha tells her incredible story for the first time: her difficult childhood, what exactly happened on the day of her abduction, her imprisonment in a five-square-metre dungeon, and the mental and physical abuse she suffered from her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil. "3,096 Days" is ultimately a story about the triumph of the human spirit. It describes how, in a situation of almost unbearable hopelessness, she slowly learned how to manipulate her captor. And how, against inconceivable odds, she managed to escape unbroken.

About the Author

Natascha Kampusch was born on 17 February 1988 in Vienna and became victim, at the age of ten, to what proved to be one of the longest abductions in recent history. In 2006 she gained her freedom. On the day she escaped, her abductor Wolfgang Priklopil committed suicide by throwing himself under a train. Since then Natascha has been trying to live a normal life. In spring 2010, aged 22, she graduated from university.

Reviews

A brilliantly insightful dissection of her years in captivity -- Jon Ronson Guardian An excellent book -- Kathryn Hughes Mail on Sunday Thoughtful, unflinching and remarkably devoid of self-pity... Remarkable - not just for Kampusch's account of her ordeal but as a testament to her indomitable spirit -- Daisy Goodwin Sunday Times