Books to curl up with: a librarian's musings

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

An old friend - RF Delderfield

I was looking for a book to download to my new toy. As I was browsing through my libraries Overdrive e-branch, I saw my old friend RF Delderfield.

Delderfield was the master of the sprawling English family epic. I am currently re-reading God is an Englishman. It is the first novel in the Swann Saga. Adam Swann survived Crimea and Indian Mutinies and has had enough of the soldier's life. He ends up shockingly in "the trade". Delderfield uses the multitude of people involved in Swann's business to explore the history and class issues of England in a way that is so enjoyable.

If you want to start with one of his one volume novels, I recommend To Serve Them All My Days. David Powlett-Jones survived WWI and lands a job at a public boys school. (a private school by US standards.) As the son of a Welsh coal miner, Powlett-Jones is a fish out of water and brings much to the school in the inter-war years. It was also an excellent BBC series

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