R. F. Delderfield - Böcker

Miner's son David Powlett-Jones returns from the carnage of the Western Front in 1918, shell-shocked and bitterly hardened by the violence of war. He begins life again as a master at a remote Devon school, controlling the destiny of boys barely his junior.As the years pass David becomes a teacher of rare talent, begins to find peace, and is able to adjust to the changes which are overwhelming society. But soon he will have to face up to the prospect of another terrible war...

Adam Swann is hungry for success. He is one of the new breed of entrepreneurs thrown up by the Industrial Revolution, determined to take advantage of current economic conditions to build an unrivalled business empire.And he is determined to win the beautiful, strong-minded Henrietta, and persuade her to share in his struggles and triumphs.

The second book in R.F. Delderfield's Swann family saga. Adam Swann's expanding business empire now stretches as far north as the Scottish Highlands and as far west as the Dublin Pale. Alex, his elder son, is a professional solder; George is a pioneer of the motor industry and his adopted daughter Deborah works to uncover the terrible injustices facing working-class women.The great edifice of the British Empire is beginning to crumble, and as the gap between prosperity and poverty widens Victorian England can no longer afford to be complacent . . .

Adam Swann has grown old, and is struggling to keep up with the changing times. The Victorian age is giving way to the Edwardian and the horse is being overtaken by the motorcar, with devastating effect on his transport business.As the new century is born, the Boer war brings tragedy, but even this cannot quench the indomitable spirit of the Swann family.

The real motive wasn't love and it wasn't greed . . . It rose to the surface out of a grey pit of boredom.When Charlie Pritchard is shown a way to escape his mundane and monotonous life as a small-town bank clerk in a tiny Welsh resort in the 1920s, and live instead in wealth with beautiful Delphine, he knows that this is his only chance. And he has to take it - even if the plan is to rob his own bank.However, as zero hour approaches he realises that there is far more at stake than he had ever imagined, and that there will be no escape, no escape at all.

It happened on the second day of the summer term. Was it caused by the smell of lilac, the droning of the bees, or the French incense which Lane-Perkins had set alight? Nobody knew, but that spring afternoon following a heated exchange with a pupil, Sebastian Sermon, a forty-nine-year-old schoolmaster, experiences a brainstorm. Dissatisfied with his life, he leaves his job, wife and children, and takes to the road.In the months that follow, Sebastian discovers that excitement and romance are not only for the young. He does things he has never done before and finds that he has talents which no one, least of all himself, had ever suspected . . .

After the British victory at Busaco during the Peninsula campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars, Ensign Keith Graham finds himself cut off from the army, along with a sergeant and seven privates.This ill-assorted, tattered band is joined by a Welsh campfollower, Gwyneth and she and Sergeant Fox help nineteen-year-old Graham achieve both manhood and leadership. Struggling through strange, often hostile country, with insufficient food and sometimes mutinous men, his one aim is to reach the coast and, hopefully, safety . . .

Kent Stuart left the West Country town of Redcliffe Bay more than thirty years ago, pursued by the guilt and shame of a scandal that cost him his youth and happiness.Having led an exciting life as a photographer, Kent now returns to find a town that bears little physical resemblance to the one he left so many years before. Yet in spite of this, memories come flooding back of a young man swept up in a passionate affair with an older woman, which ended in tragedy.And Kent must decide whether, by revisiting Redcliffe Bay, he can come to terms with the past and start anew.

Beautiful, resourceful, treacherous, vulnerable. She was a woman full of contradictions and he would never stop loving her. As a young girl Diana is irrepressible, untameable and, to the orphaned John, endlessly fascinating. Only daughter of a wealthy businessman, she is drawn both to a rigorous outdoor life in the west country with her horses and the glittering London society that will be her destiny. They spend a magical unconventional childhood together but Diana's ambition, her passion for life that makes her so desirable, pulls her away from all that makes her happy. The fierce friendship that grew inevitably to love, develops as inevitably to conflict and a betrayal that will mark them both - until the trials of war offers them redemption.

1902-1911An age of innocence and hope.Before the storm clouds roll over Europe. As Paul Craddock recovers from his Boer War injuries, he starts to plan a new life. As soon as he is able he invests all he has in a remote but beautiful estate in Devon, determined to make something wonderful of the place and to be at the heart of what is most real and most important. Then he meets Grace, beautiful and passionate, and mistress of the land he has so quickly grown to love. They are equals in determination, honour and vision but their attraction for each other is matched by their conflicting hopes and ambitions. As Paul gains knowledge, contentment and stature in Shallowford it is at the price of heartbreak, disappointments and bittersweet lessons learned.'Mr Delderfield's manner is easy, modest, heartwarming' - Evening Standard'A born storyteller' - Sunday Mirror'Highly recommended. Combines tension with a splendid sense of atmosphere and vivid characterisation. An excellent read' - Sunday Express

1912-1940A generation fallen. A country that will never be the same again. Nowhere in England avoids the searing loss of young men during the First World War and the remote Devon village of Shallowford is no exception. Many never return and the lives of those who do come back are changed forever. Paul Craddock must try to rebuild the estate and, with more difficulty, the bonds broken between the people who belong there. It is a time of huge social change and there are challenges in peace as hard to surmount as those of war. And before they are met, Germany once again threatens the stability of Europe and a way of life so hard won.'Sheer, wonderful storytelling' - Chicago Tribune

1942-1964Paul and Claire Craddock have grown older in years - but not in spirit. The turbulence of war is followed by a penurious peace. Changes are taking place in the countryside, from the way land is farmed to the hopes and expectations of the men and women who live there. Paul Craddock's livelihood, his peace, and his vision of a good and noble way of life in Shallowford are all threatened. With the help of his children and his children's children, Paul starts to adapt his dreams in order to preserve the farm. To his surprise and pleasure, in doing so he comes to discover deeper, richer ties with those around him - ties that hold a ripe promise for the future.'Mr Delderfield's manner is easy, modest, heartwarming' - Evening Standard

Jim Carver a tough, resolute war veteran, he returns from the trenches to build a better life for his family to find his wife dead. Archie Carver Jims eldest son, smart, ruthless, he has a quick eye for financial profits and beautiful women. Elaine Frith seductive and ambitious, she uses her charms to snare the man she thinks will give her wealth. The First World War ends and the soldiers return to the peaceful Avenue. On the surface their homes look just the same but behind the carefully tended front gardens everything has changed and their families lives in the next twenty years will be as turbulent as any they have known.

Life didn't stop in the Avenue because the war had started . . .Berni Carver joins up with the Commandos with his twin brother hoping they will serve out the war together. Archie Carver is determined to end the war richer than when it started. Elaine Fraser seizes her opportunity to live a little now her husband is out of the way. War has broken out and the blitz will soon change everything in the Avenue. Many men have gone off to fight but others stay behind with less honourable intentions . . .

Nat Hearn came back from the War to be assistant editor and can carrier in chief of the Sandcome Clarion.R.F. Delderfield takes the lid off small town life with a relish born of experience and reveals the politicking and doubtful but only too human motives that swirl round and through the sieve of a small local paper.