Under An English Heaven [Paperback]

Robert Radcliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2003

1943. The sleepy Suffolk village of Bedenham is jerked into the twentieth century and the harsh realities of war by the arrival on its doorstep of an American bomber base and its three thousand inhabitants. For Billy Street, fourteen, a London evacuee uneasily billeted with the village blacksmith, the American invasion is heaven sent - unlimited opportunities and acceptance at last within a community he loves. Yet a concealed past threatens his new happiness. Billy's schoolteacher, Heather Garrett, awaits word of a husband missing for eighteen months. A stranger to Bedenham, Heather's sense of isolation - and village suspicions - are heightened when troubled American pilot John Hooper, reaches for her friendship. And daily the skies fill with the bombers and their ten-man crews who, during that bleak autumn of 1943, suffered losses on a catastrophic scale. For Hooper, tormented by earlier loss, leading Misbehavin' Martha and her disorderly crew safely through their 25 designated bombing missions becomes a personal crusade.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A novel of action, engaging, authentic, irresistibly readable & enriched with romance. Wonderful storytelling. Radcliffe is the new Faulks' Michael Holroyd 'As vivid a recreation of the Second World War as I have read . Radcliffe is not just a born storyteller but one of those generous writers who look for the best in human nature ... This marvellous feel-good debut will bring a glow to the most jaded cheeks', DAILY TEL. 'You will thoroughly enjoy it', D. EXPRESS

About the Author

Robert Radcliffe lives in Suffolk and is himself an experienced pilot. He has written two other novels, published under a different name.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Abacus (March 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349115036
• ISBN-13: 978-0349115030
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,789,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Review of Under An English Heaven, October 22, 2003

By 

The WW2 Seminar at the College of William and... (Williamsburg, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under An English Heaven (Hardcover)

In Robert Radcliffe's, Under An English Heaven, soldiers and civilians alike learn quickly the techniques of self-preservation as they toil through WWII in England. Radcliffe portrays the war's hardships from the viewpoints of numerous characters; these include members of American B-17 crews, a young London evacuee, and various inhabitants from the surrounding area of Suffolk. Moving from one view point to another, Radcliffe's style of chronological overlapping keeps the reader engaged throughout the entire novel.

The reader first meets the original crew members of Misbehavin' Martha and an enterprising evacuee, Billy Street. As Billy is giving his grade school class a tour of a B-17, Martha simultaneously returns with two crewmen dead after their first mission turned "from milk-run to bloodbath in half a second" (3) when a Messerschmitt fighter laced her with bullets. Thus Radcliffe immediately introduces his overlapping style to illustrate the effect war has on different people. After losing his entire crew of another B-17 in a crash landing, Lt. John Hooper takes over as Martha's commanding officer and pilot. His task is daunting: he must retrain Misbehavin' Martha's surviving crewmen and restore their confidence to return to battle.

Radcliffe's motif of self-preservation not only includes Hooper's crew, but also pertains to the lives of such Suffolk villagers as Heather Garrett, the wife of a British officer missing in action in the Pacific theater. Heather's survival slightly differs from Hooper's: she struggles with the strain of anticipating news of her husband's fate. In addition, when Heather and Lt. Hooper become intimate with one another, she must also survive the village's scrutiny and disgruntlement and the psychological strain of choosing between being faithful to her marriage or to her heart. This coupling of enchanting love with the searing indifference of battle characterizes Radcliffe's style. Other characters, including radioman Gerry Via and young Eldon Ringwald, spend time with their lovers to seek refuge from the mental scars of battle.

The novel's conclusion - unrealistic given the historical mortality rate of the 8th Air Force - may not appeal to some readers. Radcliffe arguably errs towards the melodramatic, which may delight or irritate readers depending on personal preference. Regardless of how readers respond to the theatrical ending, Radcliffe clearly qualifies the importance of love and hope as essential intangibles to surviving the callousness and horrors of war.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glorious Ride!, May 31, 2008

By 

Tamela Mccann "taminator40" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Under An English Heaven (Paperback)

What a glorious ride Under An English Heaven is! Filled to the brim with interesting characters, incredible missions, and English countryside, this novel by Robert Radcliffe will sweep you back into World War II and take you flying with Crew 19 of the Mighty 8th Air Force.

The crew of the B17 Misbehavin' Martha suffers the loss of its pilot and two more crew members early in their tour; they find themselves stuck in limbo until John Hooper comes to join them. Hooper is a haunted man whose entire last crew was lost in a devastating mission, though he refuses a medical discharge in order to continue flying. As we watch the ten men become a true team, we are on board the Martha as she flies deep into enemy territory, and we see the youthful exuberance and disappointing losses of warfare. Meanwhile, Hooper finds solace in the arms of Heather Garrett, a local school teacher whose husband is missing in the Pacific Theatre. How will the two reconcile their relationship if her husband returns? Will the Martha lose any of its men in its twenty-five missions? What happens to these characters, plus young Billy, a London evacuee, and his family as they face the realities of wartime England engulfed me and brought me deep into daily life of World War II.

I cannot say enough good things about this wonderfully written novel. It all rings true; my own father is living proof that, yes, some crews did survive intact through twenty-five or more missions. Hooper's leadership and his conflicts are believable and Radcliffe has brilliantly relayed the anguishes of the war. I could envision myself inside the B17; I could see myself pedaling my bike through the countryside; I could feel the joy of young men discovering London on a three day pass. This is a truly wonderful novel, not to be missed. Highly, highly recommended.

2.0 out of 5 stars Trite potboiler, November 29, 2011

By 

Robert Powell (Virginia Beach, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Under An English Heaven (Paperback)

Disappointed as other reviews were good (or were they blurbs?. Formulaic with no excitment. Soap opera with airplanes. In the parts I read the errors which authors who are not truely familiar with aviation make were already creeping in. I did not bother reading the whole book.