To Serve Them All My Days [Hardcover]

R. F. Delderfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 1972

Young David Powlett-Jones, a Welsh miner's son, is invalided home from France when he suffers severe shell shock on the Western Front. At a remote English public school in Devon the debilitated veteran, himself barely out of his teens, decides temporarily to try his hand at teaching while striving to awaken from the nightmare of World War I -- the national catastrophe that sweeps England out of the comfortable certainties of the Victorian Age into the moral perplexities and harsh economic realities of more modern times.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A genuinely warm, comforting novel" -- Susan Hicks, Historical Novels Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

The two volumes of this work follow the career of David Powlett-Jones from his discharge as a shell-shocked veteran of World War I through 21 years as master, house master and, finally, headmaster of a less than prestigious English public school. The writing, aided by the excellent narration, makes the characters come alive and leap into the listener's head and heart. All reading and recording techniques are first-class. Rodska gives each of the characters a different voice, including good accent and gender differentiation. The aural portrait of the aging and finally retired headmaster, the Reverend Algernon ("Algy") Herries, is particularly fine. J.D.N. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 638 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 25, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671213717
• ISBN-13: 978-0671213718
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional book!, October 2, 2001

By 

Paul Sayles (Japan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: To Serve Them All My Days (Tr) (Paperback)

Delderfield's To Serve Them All My Days is a book that I have read frequently over the years. I found it after I watched the PBS Series. It is a very interesting period in British history - the end of "the war to end all wars" and the start of World War II. It is a time of social change, economic downturn and political upheaval. Delderfield uses the vantage point of a boy's school in Dorset to look at these issues and events. It is an extremely successful tactic. But what makes this book even more memorable are the people, from the stationmaster on the first page to the last boy on the last page, these charecters all have a very human aspect that connects to you immediately. Even the not so admirable or more difficult to like charecters make an impression.

This book is one that should be in everyone's library. It is a must have for teachers - maybe not to use as a teaching guide, but to show that our problems of today, stimulating learning, school politics, funding, are not new. Nor are the problems with parents.

This is a fine book and I recommend it highly. It is just the book for a cold rainy day and a goes well with a hot cup of tea and a scone.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll find Delderfield a delight!, November 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: To Serve Them All My Days (Tr) (Paperback)

I've read most of Delderfield's fictional work and he's definitely in my Top 10. His characters are varied and richly presented, his understanding of the human condition profound, and his stories wonderful adventures in the human struggle to find truth, meaning and happiness. To Serve Them All My Days is the story of one man's struggle to face the seeming insensibilities of human tragedy (beginning with his experiences in the trenches of WWI) and finding humanity, understanding and, ultimately, salvation of the human spirit. Part of the joy in reading it is seeing the maturing of a man and the evolution of his thinking, from youth to late middle age, as he meets and overcomes hardships, prejudice, and even class struggle. Written before the age of PC, it is a story that rings true to the universal principles of surmounting life's difficulties. The truly rewarding life comes not in avoiding adversity but in overcoming it. This book is a treasure!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I lost an old friend, February 4, 2004

By 

Marc Albert (WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: To Serve Them All My Days (Tr) (Paperback)

Now that I've finished "To Serve Them All My Days" I feel that I've lost an old friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, savoring it and rationing my reading so as not to finish it too quickly. A must read for those interested in teaching, education in general, and in understanding children. This story is a study in the trials and tribulations life offers us, and how one person not only overcame these setbacks but also flourished in spite of them. Although I watched and enjoyed the Masterpiece Theatre series on TV in the early 80's I did not really appreciate it then, as I would now if it were to be rebroadcast. I have exhausted all possibilities in trying to obtain a copy of a WGBH tape of this series. If anyone knows how to obtain a tape please let me know. I highly recommend this book.