Alvesdon

James Holland

$22.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English

Penguin (Transworld)
08 April 2025

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Sagas; Historical fiction; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War

A heartland World War II family drama centring around the Castell family from acclaimed WW2 historian James Holland

A Times 2024 Best Summer Read

The village of Alvesdon has been home to the Castells for generations. But the year is 1939 and the peace and tranquillity there is about to be shattered once more by the stormclouds of war in Europe. As three generations of the family gather, they must all face the prospect of their lives being transformed beyond recognition the moment Britain declares war on Germany.

When the inevitable happens and Britain finds itself at war, the younger members of the family and farm workers are called up to fight and those who remain must battle to keep the home fires burning and the farm afloat. The gentle certainties of rural life are replaced by the urgent clamour of war, in the air, at sea and on land, where events unfold with dizzying rapidity and unexpected consequences.

Stretching from the glorious summer of 1939 to the Battle of Britain the following year, acclaimed historian James Holland paints a compelling and immersive fictional portrait of how the war changed everything. For one family and for a community, their way of life can never really be the same again...

By: James Holland
Imprint: Penguin (Transworld)
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781804991411
ISBN 10: 1804991414
Pages: 560
Publication Date: 08 April 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

James Holland is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning historian, writer, and broadcaster. The author of a number of best-selling histories including most recently Brothers In Arms and Normandy '44, he is also the author of ten works of fiction and a dozen Ladybird Experts. He is the co-founder of the annual Chalke Valley History Festival which is now in its twelfth year, and he has presented - and written - many television programmes and series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic and the History and Discovery channels. With Al Murray, he has a successful Second World War podcast, We Have Ways of Making You Talk, which also has its own festival, and is a research fellow at St Andrew's University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He can be found on Twitter as @James1940 and on Instagram as @jamesholland1940.

Reviews for Alvesdon

James Holland's professional as a historian of the Second World War is evident in the vivid and nuanced portrayal of all the varied theatres of conflict. * The Times * A beautiful, evocative novel that captures the fear and mood of the early days of the war -- Dermot O'Leary