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The breaking wave

Nevil Shute

19551 pagesabout 5–10 minutes
1955
first published
  • 1955Heinemann · 250 pages · ENGISBN 9780434699162
  • 1968Heron · 250 pages · ENGISBN 9780900948084
  • 1990Mandarin Paperbacks · 288 pages · ENGISBN 9780749303419
  • 2010Random House Group Limited · ENGISBN 9781409087427
  • 1988Recorded Books, Inc. and Blackstone Publishing · 1 pagesISBN 9781664457836
  • 2000House of Stratus · 296 pages · ENGISBN 9781842322864
  • 1987Ulverscroft Large Print · 400 pages · ENGISBN 9780708984420
  • 2009Vintage Classics · 272 pagesISBN 9780099530237

This is the same book as *Requiem for a Wren*. Alan Duncan is a lawyer, recently called to the bar in England, returning home to his wealthy parents' prosperous sheep station (ranch) in Australia. He studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and fought as a pilot in World War II before being injured in action and losing both feet in an air crash. His arrival home is marred by the apparent suicide of his parents' housekeeper, a young Englishwoman called Jessie Proctor. Alan realises that this troubled woman must have left her personal papers hidden somewhere in the event that her suicide attempt was not successful. He searches the house and happens upon a small suitcase of letters, diaries and the woman's passport. He is appalled to learn that the woman was, in fact, Janet Prentice — a former Royal Navy Wren and the former girlfriend of his dead brother Bill, and someone for whom Alan had spent considerable time searching immediately after the war. (from fadedpage.com) [1]: http://fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20140335

Worth knowing

ViolenceFrequent

When and where

ThemesWarClass

Content notes

  • Warmoderateunreviewed
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