JAMES von SCHMITTOU

A HISTORICAL MYSTERY

The Prince
Who Didn’t
Die?

A Family Mystery and the Search for Truth

A family name. An unfinished story. A search through the records and memories that connect one generation to the next.

BY JAMES VON SCHMITTOU

Discover the book Find your edition
Cover of The Prince Who Didn’t Die? A historical portrait against torn black and parchment paper.

HISTORY LEAVES QUESTIONS. FAMILIES KEEP THEM.

FAMILY HISTORY MEMORY QUESTIONSTurn the page
01 / THE BOOKA FAMILY HISTORY. OPEN QUESTIONS.

A family history.
A search for truth.
Questions remain.

A search into family history brings together surviving records, remembered stories, and unanswered questions. The book explores what the evidence can tell us, while leaving room for what remains uncertain.

Letters, records, and inherited stories guide a search that has held James von Schmittou’s attention for decades.

Part historical inquiry and part personal journey, the book considers what surviving evidence can tell us. Clearly marked imagined scenes explore possibility while keeping speculation distinct from the record.

Inside the story
01Family storiesThe questions we inherit
02Surviving recordsLetters and archives
03An imagined historyClearly marked speculation
04Open questionsEvidence and further research
02 / BETWEEN THE COVERSFOUR PARTS. ONE INQUIRY.

Follow the search.
Weigh the evidence.

The book moves between personal histories, inherited stories, and surviving records, asking what we can know and what remains uncertain.

I

People behind
the history

Family relationships, personal lives, and the stories that become part of the record.

II

An imagined
possibility

Clearly marked speculative scenes explore an alternative history, separate from the documented record.

III

Tracing a
family history

Work, family, and surviving records sit alongside the stories passed between generations.

IV

What the evidence
can answer

A careful look at the clues, their limits, and questions for future research.

FROM THE EPILOGUE

“I began with a surname.”

A family search becomes a place for the next reader to begin.

JAMES VON SCHMITTOU · THE NEXT PAGE
03 / THE AUTHORTHE NAME BEHIND THE SEARCH
James von Schmittou

AUTHOR · ARTIST · IT PROFESSIONAL

James
von Schmittou

It started with a name he wanted to understand.

James von Schmittou is an author, IT engineer, and family-history researcher. This book grew from his search for his family’s origins and the questions passed between generations.

The inquiry takes him from remembered family conversations to historical archives and unanswered questions in the record. Away from the archives, he creates electronic music as VONKOSM.

BEYOND THE BOOK

04 / YOUR NEXT READTHE BOOKSTORE

Make room
for the mystery.

The bookstore is coming. Return here for print and digital editions when they become available.

THE PRINT EDITION

For your bookshelf.

Explore the story one page at a time.

Coming soon
THE DIGITAL EDITION

For wherever you read.

Keep the inquiry close, wherever it takes you.

Coming soon

PRIVATE EARLY READER ACCESS

Your invitation
to the story.

Invited readers can use their code to download an early draft for private feedback.

Letters can be uppercase or lowercase. Your code unlocks the download. The saved PDF opens without a password.