Book description
A STORY OF SABOTAGE, BETRAYAL AND THE TERRIBLE SADNESS OF EXILE. 'Remarkable'The Times. 'A magnificent novel'The Times. 'Gripping'The Spectator. Scotland, 1940: The Fronsac, a French warship, blows up in the Firth of Clyde. The disaster is witnessed by three locals. Jackie, a young girl who thinks she caused the explosiong…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Death of the Fronsac as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I came across this novel when I was researching my book, although I had been aware of author Neal Ascherson’s expert writing about Poland and Ukraine for many years.
This is a big, engrossing piece of fiction, based on real events, moving deftly between wartime Scotland and Poland, skilfully portraying the complexities of conflict. As well as an engrossing story, it is one of the best evocations I have read of the unholy muddle of war, where so much that happens is down to fallible human beings trying to cope with appalling situations.
For me, it also made sense of…
From Catherine's list on The best books that bring european history vividly to life.
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