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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > War fiction > First World War fiction
While Vili has neither the multi-generational sweep nor the moral
gravitas of Singer's family sagas, its themes are nonetheless
timeless, its struggles archetypal. A father and son grapple with
each other, and, in the process, a richly compact narrative
emerges: a rebellious son leaves his ancestral home-an unnamed
village in Poland-to find adventure among strangers and lose
tradition and family along the way. Their respective stories define
what is lost and what is gained in the immigrant passage to the new
world. The eponymous hero, Volf Rubin-or Willy (Vili) Robin in
America-is the rare agon who must share center stage with his
antagonist, that is, his more voluble paterfamilias. The
sententious Hirsh-modeled on Singer's own painful childhood
interactions with the savage brutality of the chief rabbi of
Nyesheve-tenaciously holds onto some of the more merciless and
"bone- breaking" pronouncements derived from a literalist reading
and application of Jewish law. Such is the heavy baggage which,
according to Volf, should have been left behind in steerage. Volf's
lapsed Judaism is his father's dystopian nightmare. He much prefers
nature and farm animals to any form of classroom. Eventually, he
leaves home for the New World, and there a whole new story
unfolds-or is it so "new"?
In 1917 the Great War rages on, and for the Hunters, their friends
and their servants the war is where they live now. David has
returned from the Front a shadow of his former self; his sister
Diana, newly married, copes with pregnancy alone, her husband at
the Front. Aunt Laura, eager for challenge, goes to France with an
ambulance; while Beattie struggles to manage war work and
household, while racked with her secret guilt and a new threat of
exposure. U-boat attacks face Britain with starvation, and with the
worsening privation comes a new horror as Germany begins a lethal
bombing campaign. But even in the darkest hours of war, new life
and new hope can burgeon, with the promise that the future might
still hold happiness for them all. The Long, Long Trail is the
fourth book in the War at Home series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles,
author of the much-loved Morland Dynasty novels. Set against the
real events of 1917, at home and on the front, this is a vivid and
rich family drama featuring the Hunter family and their servants.
In an aging mansion on the south side of London's Putney Bridge, an
old woman confesses a secret to her grandson, just returned home
from the battlefields of World War II. Charlotte Stetchworth has
always appeared to be a proper Englishwoman, though with a lively
background as a suffragette and European traveler. Now, her
grandson Freddy learns a sinister secret, that Charlotte and her
son Rolly-Freddy's father-were involved in a complex web of spying
for the Germans starting in World War I. In this captivating novel
by historian and Army veteran Colonel David Fitz-Enz, we follow
Rolly throughout the European theater of World War I. Rags, as he
is known to friends and colleagues, is assigned to the staff of
Major General Avery Hilliard Hopewell, an inspector general for the
British Army whose work takes him from the battlefields of France
to Alexandria and Gallipoli and beyond. Rags' travels lead him to
army hospitals, a mysterious father figure, a beautiful nurse
wracked with grief, and Churchill's War Rooms. Along the way, he
and Charlotte learn the art of spycraft and use any means necessary
to keep their secret. But while Freddy is told his family's covert
history, he begins to suspect that Charlotte has just scratched the
surface. Beginning his own investigation, Freddy learns that there
is much more to discover about the spy on Putney Bridge.
This new novel from Marion Husband, best-selling author of the Boy
I Love trilogy, is a story of adultery, love and redemption.
'Husband's stunning writing and inspired prose lend well to her
honest characters . . . read when you're in the mood for something
intense and moving' Three Dollar Bill Reviews USA In my more lucid
moments I know I'm dead . . . So begins Edwina's story, a young
woman whose spirit is trapped by guilt. Set between the present day
and the First World War, Edwina's ghost tells the story of Gaye and
David Henderson, the adulterous couple whose house she haunts. But
she also has her own story to tell, gradually revealing the terrors
that keep her from finding peace. Just some of the amazing
GOODREADS REVIEWS: 'An absorbing page-turner.' 'Thoroughly
enjoyable and only gets better the more you read.' 'This
beautifully understated novel will keep you guessing until the last
page.'
Dublin, 1914. As Ireland stands on the brink of political crisis,
Europe plunges headlong into war. Among the thousands of Irishmen
who volunteer to fight for the British Army is Stephen Ryan, a
gifted young maths scholar whose working class background has
marked him out as a misfit among his wealthy fellow students. Sent
to fight in Turkey, he looks forward to the great adventure,
unaware of the growing unrest back home in Ireland. His romantic
notions of war are soon shattered and he is forced to wonder where
his loyalties lie, on his return to a Dublin poised for rebellion
in 1916 and a brother fighting for the rebels. Everything has
changed utterly, and in a world gone mad his only hope is his
growing friendship with the brilliant and enigmatic Lillian Bryce.
The Soldier's Song is a poignant and deeply moving novel, a tribute
to the durability of the human soul.
It is 1916 and the Hunters, their friends and their servants are
settling down to the business of war. As conscription reaches into
every household, Britain turns out men and shells in industrial
numbers from army camps and munitions factories up and down the
land. Bobby, the second Hunter son, gains his wings and joins his
brother in France. Ethel, the under housemaid, embarks on a quest
and Laura Hunter sets out on her biggest adventure yet. Diana, the
elder Hunter daughter, finds a second chance at happiness in the
last place she'd think of looking, and matriarch Beattie's past
comes back to haunt her. But as the battle of the Somme grinds into
action, the shadow of death falls over every part of the country,
and the Hunter household cannot remain untouched. The Land of my
Dreams is the third book in the War at Home series by Cynthia
Harrod-Eagles, author of the much-loved Morland Dynasty novels. Set
against the real events of 1916, at home and on the front, this is
a richly researched and a wonderfully authentic family drama
featuring the Hunter family and their servants.
The Booker Prize-winning modern classic of contemporary war fiction
from the Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the
Girls Recommended by Richard Osman 'One of the few real
masterpieces of late twentieth-century British fiction' Jonathan
Coe 'Original, delicate and unforgettable' Independent 'A new
vision of what the First World War did to human beings, male and
female, soldiers and civilians. Constantly surprising and formally
superb' A. S. Byatt, Daily Telegraph 1917, Scotland. At
Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland, army psychiatrist William
Rivers treats shell-shocked soldiers before sending them back to
the front. In his care are poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred
Owen, and Billy Prior, who is only able to communicate by means of
pencil and paper. . . Regeneration, The Eye in the Door and The
Ghost Road follow the stories of these men until the last months of
the war. Widely acclaimed and admired, Pat Barker's Regeneration
trilogy paints with moving detail the far-reaching consequences of
a conflict which decimated a generation. The Regeneration trilogy:
Regeneration The Eye in the Door The Ghost Road
'Just the right mixture of doomed fun, melancholy and faintly
lascivious despair' Observer 'I am afraid I have something to tell
you. It is that we are all about to be destroyed.' 1914. The old
standards are going. There is bitterness in politics, talk of civil
war in Ireland. But all this means little to Cynthia Weston,
attractive wife of cabinet member Aylmer Weston, and her nephew by
marriage Philip. They are caught up in the charmed, perilous toils
of a mutual passion that will destroy all they hold most dear -
while the shadow of war lengthens and darkens, ready to swallow
their world whole. A captivating portrait of a lost world, Statues
in a Garden is a rediscovered masterpiece by one of the most
important and neglected British female writers of the twentieth and
twenty-first centuries.
A heart-pounding First World War naval thriller featuring the rebel
Captain Cochrane Smith.1917: After three years, the outcome of the
Great War is poised on a knife-edge. David Cochrane Smith, captain
of the armoured cruiser HMS Thunder, is patrolling off the coast of
South America. But then he attacks and sinks the Gerda, a neutral
ship in a neutral port. Smith already has a reputation as a
maverick and now he faces professional ruin. But he is certain he
was right, that the Gerda was one of two ships masquerading under
neutral flags that are in fact supply vessels for the mighty German
warships, Kondor and Wolf. Only an outdated cruiser and a young
captain prepared to break all the rules stand in their way...
Thunder At Dawn is an edge-of-the-seat naval adventure that
combines thrilling story-telling with meticulous research, perfect
for readers of Alexander Fullerton, Julian Stockwin and Philip
McCutchan. Praise for Alan Evans'I think a 21 gun salute is
required...Alan Evans has produced a cracking thriller' Daily
Mirror 'Evans provides a different sea story, sustained suspense
and vivid battle scenes' Publishers Weekly
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Dauntless
(Paperback)
Alan Evans
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R459
R405
Discovery Miles 4 050
Save R54 (12%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The odds are against Commander Smith in this epic story of battle
on the high seas.Autumn, 1917: Britain is just about surviving
against incessant U-boat attacks, but there are mutinies in France,
a revolution in Russia and stalemate on the Western Front. The
Allies must get the upper hand and, in London, plans are hatched to
renew the pressure in the Middle East. Commander David Cochrane
Smith finds himself on a formidable assignment in the
Mediterranean. He is wily, experienced and tough but his mission is
dangerous and his force is small. With this ramshackle squadron he
must elude the U-boats and sink a heavily armed enemy cruiser whose
captain is as able and daring as Smith himself. The action is
fierce on land and on sea - and the odds are uneven. But this is an
assignment designed to test Smith to the utmost and he is
determined to succeed... Dauntlessis an unputdownable First World
War Thriller perfect for fans of David Black, Patrick O'Brian and
Alexander Fullerton. Praise for Dauntless 'I think a 21 gun salute
is required... Alan Evans has produced a cracking thriller' Daily
Mirror 'Evans provides a different sea story, sustained suspense
and vivid battle scenes' Publishers Weekly
As the end of the war nears, change arrives at Woodicombe
House...Kate Channer is settled in London helping half-sister,
Naomi, as her housekeeper while the Great War rages on. When
Naomi's brother, Ned, is sent home seriously injured it's up to
Kate to manage the household as well as Ned's rehabilitation. But
with the growing workload, Kate struggles to keep everything
running smoothly and yearns to return to Woodicombe House. And with
no word from her husband, Luke, fighting in France, it's becoming
increasingly difficult to stay positive. Hard times are ahead for
Kate and her family - when the realities of war land on their
doorstep, can Kate find the strength to keep going? The final book
in the Woodicombe House Saga trilogy, this story is perfect for
fans of Linda Finlay and Rosie Goodwin.
After ten years of occupying the west bank of the Rhine, the powers
are preparing to evacuate their troops, leaving the area
de-militarized. German nationalists want the area to be
re-incorporated into the Weimar Republic, but have not counted on
Common Smith VC and the crew of the Swordfish.
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