Overview

Derek Robinson's depiction of an RAF fighter squadron during the Battle for France and the Battle of Britain won critical acclaim but upset the Daily Telegraph-reading public. His pilots were real human beings, far from convinced of the wisdom of their military leaders or that of Churchill, for that matter. The likelihood of being burned to death in a Hurricane concentrated their minds on other things. Some turned to drink. Some turned on their own in order to survive. Others, most notably the brilliantly drawn anti-hero Flight Lieutenant 'Moggy' Cattermaul, scored a succession of aerial victories even if his behaviour on the ground was utterly unforgivable. A vivid and unforgettable portrait of young men at war: real men, not the two-dimensional stiff-upper-lip heroes of legend.

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9781845292621

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Derek Robinson is a policeman's son from a council estate who crossed the class barrier by going to Cambridge, where he got a degree in history and learned to write badly. A stint in advertising in London and New York changed that, and in 1971 he finally got it right when Goshawk Squadron was shorlisted for the Booker Prize. This novel of the Royal Flying Corps led to a sequel, Hornet's Sting, and War Story. His equally acclaimed trilogy of World War Two novels are Piece of Cake, A Good Clean Fight and Damned Good Show. His other novels include The Eldorado Network and Artillery of Lies. Derek Robinson has also published non-fiction on a variety of themes, from the laws of rugby to the nuclear tests on Christmas Island in the 1950s. His most recent book is Invasion, 1940 a revisionist history of the Battle of Britain. He lives in Bristol.

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