David Ridgus Posted 18 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2014 Anybody else out there read Elizabeth Speller's At Break of Day? - 'It tells the story of four different men, leading very different lives, who find themselves brought together at daybreak on 1st July 1916'. I'm also reading Harry Drinkwater's diary. And I'm impressed by both Thank you. I've not heard of the Speller book although I too liked the Drinkwater David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 18 January , 2014 Share Posted 18 January , 2014 War Is War - Ex Private X, who was the author AM Burrage and who served in the war with 28th Battalion, London Regiment. Hilarious. TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajaxer Posted 18 January , 2014 Share Posted 18 January , 2014 I am reading 'Dominion' by CJ Sansom which is based on post-WW2 Britain in the 1950s "after Britain had surrendered to Nazi Germany after Dunkirk". Is there any novel set in Britain after the Great War, based on the fiction of a German victory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 18 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2014 I am reading 'Dominion' by CJ Sansom which is based on post-WW2 Britain in the 1950s "after Britain had surrendered to Nazi Germany after Dunkirk". Is there any novel set in Britain after the Great War, based on the fiction of a German victory? Interesting. Can't think of one, although bearing in mind the number of new titles that I had not heard about before I started this thread probably disqualifies me as an authority on the matter! Just a thought, I suppose no-one really saw a German victory in the Great War as including a successful invasion of Britain so it doesn't quite have the air of possibility that a Nazi dominated Britain does. Girding myself to be shot down in flames - again! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woollamc Posted 18 January , 2014 Share Posted 18 January , 2014 "The Summer Isles" by Iain MacLeod imagines a German victory but I can't recommend it as I haven't read it. Some books I have read and can heartily recommend: "Three Cheers for me", a 1962 novel written by Donald Jack. It is the first of a long series of comic novels about the career of Bartholomew Wolfe Bandy in the Royal Flying Corps. Have only read this one but found it very amusing. Would also second Dolphin's earlier recommendation of John Biggins' Otto Prohaska quartet - simultaneously funny and moving - and "Goshawk Squadron" by Derek Robinson - about the RFC again - is also a pretty good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 19 January , 2014 Share Posted 19 January , 2014 For one that deals with the Russian Revolution, including the Masurian Lakes etc. - but is mostly centred on the fate of the Romanovs: My Kingdom for a Grave, by Stephanie Plowman (Bodley Head, 1970). Another one that's out of print, unfortunately, but I strongly recommend it. It is the second of two books, but I can't at the moment recall whether the first one, Three lives for the Czar (1969), deals with the outbreak of the Great War or not - it begins with the Khodynka Fields disaster on Nicholas II's coronation day (May 1896). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 19 January , 2014 Share Posted 19 January , 2014 After having enjoyed all of Sansom's previous books I was very disappointed with Dominion, it seemed incredibly contrived - not least Churchill alive and operating in Britain well after the German invasion. A great disappointment. I seem to recall a Len Deigton book about a post invasion Great Britain the name SSGB comes to mind I think I even enjoyed it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 19 January , 2014 Share Posted 19 January , 2014 There were various pre-war imaginings of German victories (and defeats), some of which are collected in the volume 'The Great War With Germany 1890-1914' edited by I.F. Clarke, the doyen of future war stories. Speculative military fiction was a thriving genre in the decades before the First World War, ranging from the sober 'Great War of 189-' written by a panel of ex-officers and pundits ( like General Sir John Hackett's 'The Third World War' from the late 1970s) to the splendidly bonkers and apocalyptic sci-fi of George Griffith's 'Angel of the Revolution'. Many of these stories were written as warnings for Britain to wake up to the threat before it was too late. The wicked, all-conquering adversary is often Russia rather than Germany, particularly before the turn of the century, as in 'Angel of the Revolution', in which the Tsar's hordes are confronted by a specially-trained group of anarchist supermen flying futuristic airships from a secret base in the heart of Africa. I'm not making that up. I must admit that I haven't come across any post First World War 'what if' stories postulating German victory. By contrast, as mentioned in other posts, the number of 'what if the Nazis had won' tales are legion, again ranging from fairly serious miltary speculation like 'The Hitler Options' by various experts, to science-fiction such as Deighton's 'SS-GB', Harris's 'Fatherland', Baxter's 'Weaver' , Sansom's 'Dominion' and the brilliant 'Man in the High Castle' by Philip K. Dick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 19 January , 2014 Author Share Posted 19 January , 2014 Mark I had forgotten all about 'Man in the High Castle'. You are right it is brilliant. I read it years ago in a post-Bladerunner 'let's read anything by Philip K Dick' moment. I must dig out my copy: definitely worth a re-read. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaforths Posted 21 January , 2014 Share Posted 21 January , 2014 Noticed this one tonight and it appeals to me from the blurb: http://www.thereadingroom.com/books/details/wake/7959529 Has anyone any more info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norrette Posted 22 January , 2014 Share Posted 22 January , 2014 It was called 'The Eye in the Door' . The third volume "The Ghost Road' was the one that won the Booker but the second one 'Regeneration' is the one most people remember because it was the one with Owen, Sassoon, Graves and Rivers. Despite that I'm with you and was frankly dumbfounded when the third one picked up the award. I almost wondered if it was like one of those oscars they give old actors because they feel guilty about not having given them one for superior work earlier in their career! David I had the 'pleasure' of studying Ghost Road in my Literature course a couple of years ago. She used lots of tricksy Booker-style elements in Ghost - such as interweaving the stories from Melanesia and bringing it all together, which is why she got it for Ghost rather than the much more enjoyable Regeneration. I compared it to the English Patient in my essay - Oondatje won imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally B Posted 22 January , 2014 Share Posted 22 January , 2014 I have just read 'Starshine' by John Wilcox and just could not put it down. Has anyone else read it? I would be interested in your opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 26 February , 2014 Admin Share Posted 26 February , 2014 Following Sue Light's recommendation on the 'Daughters of Mars' thread http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=198760&page=1entry1950406 just finished Robert Ryan's 'Dead Man's Land' and I wasn't disappointed, Dr Watson in the trenches, an ageing Holmes in Sussex, murder and mayhem and it must be said a twisted plot worthy of the great man himself. What Sue was too modest to mention was that she gets star billing in the author's acknowledgements at the end of the book, so you can guarantee it's well researched, as I was reading it while some of the 'facts' were familiar it was not overdone and the fact the main characters were in a 'Pals' Battalion was essential to the plot rather than just being tacked on to impress - but who was the inspiration for Sister Spence and her regal supervision of the CCS? If you want a contemporary thriller with a WW1 theme for some light reading, or if you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, then recommended. Looking forward to the sequel. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 26 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2014 Following Sue Light's recommendation on the 'Daughters of Mars' thread http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=198760&page=1entry1950406 just finished Robert Ryan's 'Dead Man's Land' and I wasn't disappointed, Dr Watson in the trenches, an ageing Holmes in Sussex, murder and mayhem and it must be said a twisted plot worthy of the great man himself. What Sue was too modest to mention was that she gets star billing in the author's acknowledgements at the end of the book, so you can guarantee it's well researched, as I was reading it while some of the 'facts' were familiar it was not overdone and the fact the main characters were in a 'Pals' Battalion was essential to the plot rather than just being tacked on to impress - but who was the inspiration for Sister Spence and her regal supervision of the CCS? If you want a contemporary thriller with a WW1 theme for some light reading, or if you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, then recommended. Looking forward to the sequel. Ken Thank you for that Ken. I love Sherlock Holmes and am a sucker for the various pastiches so was going to get around to this sometime. However will now do so much quicker following a combination of your recommendation and Sue's involvement! The sequel 'The Dead can wait' has been equally well reviewed but is only just out in hardback David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassoon Posted 27 February , 2014 Share Posted 27 February , 2014 Probably a lesser known novel by Canadian Timothy Findley - "The Wars". Of course, "All Quiet" ranks up there for me. It could be because I teach these two novels and that's why they stand out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 27 February , 2014 Share Posted 27 February , 2014 Probably a lesser known novel by Canadian Timothy Findley - "The Wars". Of course, "All Quiet" ranks up there for me. It could be because I teach these two novels and that's why they stand out. There are several classic war novels from your neck of the woods - Peregrine Acland's 'All Else is Folly', a particular favourite of mine, Redvers Dent's 'Show me Death' & Philip Child's 'God's Sparrows' come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassoon Posted 27 February , 2014 Share Posted 27 February , 2014 There are several classic war novels from your neck of the woods - Peregrine Acland's 'All Else is Folly', a particular favourite of mine, Redvers Dent's 'Show me Death' & Philip Child's 'God's Sparrows' come to mind. "God's Sparrows"! Of course - how could that one slip my mind? I should also mention "Stone Carvers". Currently teaching that to my senior students. I'm glad my neck of the woods as produced some decent literature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyne Posted 2 March , 2014 Share Posted 2 March , 2014 My absolute favourite is still Sébastien Japrisot's "Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles" , closely followed by Faulk's "Birdsong" Also a very good read, very thoroughly researched but maybe a bit long in the end is Jeff Shaara's "To the last man" I'm still waiting for the Dr Watson in the trenches books... When my course is done, I'll buy them first thing and spend a whole day on the couch reading... think I'll deserve it after nine month of brainwash!! MM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartd Posted 2 March , 2014 Share Posted 2 March , 2014 I recently finished reading Helen Dunmore's The Lie and enjoyed it immensely. Set in Cornwall in 1920. Well worth a read. I've now moved on to reading the same author's book Zennor in Darkness also set in Cornwall but this time in 1917. It's set around the true story of DH Lawrence and his German wife moving to Cornwall during the war. Highly recommend both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 2 March , 2014 Share Posted 2 March , 2014 Following Sue Light's recommendation on the 'Daughters of Mars' thread http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=198760&page=1entry1950406 just finished Robert Ryan's 'Dead Man's Land' and I wasn't disappointed, Dr Watson in the trenches, an ageing Holmes in Sussex, murder and mayhem and it must be said a twisted plot worthy of the great man himself. If you want a contemporary thriller with a WW1 theme for some light reading, or if you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, then recommended. Looking forward to the sequel. I'm glad you enjoyed it Ken - the reviews have been very positive. And as David mentioned the sequel 'The Dead Can Wait' is out now - an entirely different scenario, a real page-turner set well away from Casualty Clearing Stations (and of which I had no part at all). And for anyone getting to the end of 'The Dead Can Wait' it's clear that Dr. Watson still has more to offer in a third volume, but that's in the future. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woollamc Posted 2 March , 2014 Share Posted 2 March , 2014 My absolute favourite is still Sébastien Japrisot's "Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles" , closely followed by Faulk's "Birdsong" I read the English translation of Japrisot - "A Very Long Engagement" - and thoroughly agree with Marilyne that it is a wonderful, wonderful book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 3 March , 2014 Share Posted 3 March , 2014 War Is War - Ex Private X, who was the author AM Burrage and who served in the war with 28th Battalion, London Regiment. Hilarious. TR I thought this memoir was very good and i personally wouldn't class it as Great War fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 3 March , 2014 Share Posted 3 March , 2014 Why is that Blackmaria? It is all about WW1 and although it may well have been based on his experiences, he never claimed it to be an absolutely factual account. TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 3 March , 2014 Share Posted 3 March , 2014 Burrage does say in his forward that the book is "a sincere attempt to put on record, albeit from memory, the experiences of one man as a private soldier in France during the War". It's personal experience thinly disguised as fiction as so many soldier's memoirs were at the time. It's often very hard to draw a line between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 3 March , 2014 Share Posted 3 March , 2014 Why is that Blackmaria? It is all about WW1 and although it may well have been based on his experiences, he never claimed it to be an absolutely factual account. TR Yes I take your point, it's only my interpretation as opposed to yours, as DJC points out it's sometimes a thin line between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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