Tag: Life in London during the Blitz

The Doodled Asterisk by R.A.J Walling – a Second World War novel of mystery and more republished by Oreon at Oleander Press

January 17, 2024

The Doodled Asterisk by R.A.J Walling

This is a rather exciting novel of mystery and surprises set in the heat of the Second World War – March 1941 to be exact – and first published in 1943 when nothing was certain. Oreon Publishing at the Oleander Press has chosen this book to republish, and I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review it. It features a small group of people who not only witness a severe raid at the fictional city of Westport but have to deal with the mysterious after effects when the tally and condition of bodies does not agree. It is full of the details of the effects of a sustained bombing raid from a first-hand point of view but not from a sentimental perspective. The main characters have undefined secret roles but are nevertheless distinct people. It is narrated by James Farrar, who is vaguely aware of the roles of those he meets but is generally a little confused by events and thus gives the reader’s perspective. It is written with a sort of hesitant immediacy, as some actions are considered, while others are based on reactions to unforeseeable events. With elements of murder mystery, espionage thriller and a portrait of London and other places at war it is a lively and engaging read, of its time yet well written enough to still entertain. The personalities of the characters emerge, but essentially this is a book of action and some danger.

Farrar is a fire watcher “with (his) occupation gone” but obviously with sufficient financial means to live as comfortably as anyone can in blitzed wartime London. When he encounters the mysterious friend Tolefree, he says that he is going to Westport to meet an unknown letter writer Blenkinsop, who has a message for him from a ship’s captain. Tolefree immediately seizes on the opportunity to accompany him on apparent impulse, but it soon becomes obvious that he knows much more than he is letting on. On arriving at Westport they encounter another man who also seems involved in the general mystery, before Tolefree examines an apparently idle doodle which reveals a room number in the main hotel. Before Farrar and Tolefree can follow up on any information, of which Tolefree obviously has much more, a severe raid erupts on the town and the picture becomes very confused. While gunshots have been heard previous to the bombs falling, it is soon impossible to investigate what is really going on in all the confusion. The men depart from a farmhouse outside the danger zone, but even in this simple accommodation strange events continue. Following leads and clues will see Farrar being involved in many adventures, including a countryside visit and discovering the backstreets of London as he struggles to discover just how important the events in Westport will be to a greater challenge.

This is an exciting read which is far more than a whodunit, as greater mysteries emerge with bigger implications than murder. There are times when it can be a little confusing, but that reflects the confusion in the mind of the narrator as he tries to discover what is really going on. It is a bit of a boys own adventure but is written with real depth and understanding of the characters, especially family loyalty and who is genuinely doing their best in impossible circumstances. I think this book can be read as a contemporary record of what it was actually like to experience an air raid, and how people would have to flee their homes and seek help outside population centres in order to survive, and how those who had experienced the fighting involved in the previous World War reacted to a whole new set of challenges. When this book was actually written the future was still not certain, and its first readers would themselves recognise the suspicion of others as well as the effects of War. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy murder mysteries, thrillers and a real slice of wartime life.    

The Midnight News by Jo Baker – a novel of a young woman in upheaval in 1940 and the London Blitz

September 6, 2023

The Midnight News by Jo Baker

This is a powerful and intense novel set in the London Blitz of the Second World War. It is enthralling, atmospheric and a little disturbing. It is narrated mainly through the point of view of Charlotte Richmond, a twenty-year-old woman with a disturbed past in 1940, when she has made a break for relative freedom in a city that is rapidly becoming accustomed to nightly bombing which is a total upheaval for many of the people left, a profound upheaval mirrored in the mind of Charlotte. As a reader I found this an unsettling, brilliantly written book, which often made me stop and admire the power of the writing.

Early in the novel the first raid is likened to an unexpected sound on the streets of London. “She can also hear a waterfall, and there are no waterfalls round here.” Charlotte does not tell her own story, but it follows her progress, her confusion and bafflement of what is happening. It explores the nature of friendship, of life experience, of contrasting family situations. Charlotte’s silent thoughts, of how despite a relatively wealthy background she is forced to count out her money that she earns for “essential war work”, is revealing of how she really lives. She finds a welcome in a boarding house, in sharp contrast to a background she has rejected, which may have rejected her. When a tragedy rocks her life, when she finds her whole view of life upset by how what is happening to everyone seems particularly awful for her, she feels threatened on every front. Her thoughts become dominated by her friends in several ways, even her remarkable godmother seems unusually preoccupied. Her typing job seems pointless, despite her being told that every piece of information is vital.

In a London being reformed on a nightly basis, where nothing is certain, Charlotte becomes convinced that she is being watched, pursued from and by a shadow man. Terrified of what is happening around her, to her, she makes decisions, attempts to make connections, but is left distressed. The only hope seems to be with a young man who she sees feeding the birds, a habit which is frowned on in a time of increasing food shortages. Tom’s gentle, non-threatening actions provide an alternative for Charlotte as she desperately seeks to silence the voices, the disturbance she feels. Tom is the only other character given his own story in the book; hesitant but supported by his family, challenged in many ways, permanently wondering.

This is a novel that twists and turns, with surprises at every turn, with challenges for every character, with real pain on many levels. It contains so many ideas, of the nature of family, of friends, of the truth in a time of upheaval in so many ways. For me it had echoes of Sarah Waters’ “Nightwatch”, where expectations are overturned, where desperate young women try to exist in a world completely changed overnight. This is a painfully honest book, with a strong inner dynamic of a disturbed and disturbing character and surprising twists and turns throughout. I really recommend it as an enthralling and significant novel of women’s experiences of the Second World War in all the messiness and unpredictability.