“It’s no good going on living in the ashes of a dead happiness.” – Nevile Shute, A Town Called Alice
“She looked at him in wonder. “Do people think of me like that? I only did what anybody could have.” “That’s as it may be,” he replied. “The fact is, that you did it.” – Nevile Shut, A Town Called Alice
“Like some infernal monster, a war can go on killing people for a long time after it’s all over.” – Nevile Shut
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Nevil Shute, born Nevil Shute Norway on 17 January, 1899 in a suburb of London. He was an aeronautical engineer, aviator and a writer. He spent the later part of his life in Australia where he died on 12 January 1960.
Graduating from Oxford in 1922, he attended the Woolwich Royal Military Academy, but was prevented from joining the Royal Flying Corps due to stuttering. However, he did serve as an infantryman in WWI.
In 1931, he set up his own company, Aircraft Construction Company (Airspeed Ltd.) The most famous production of his company was the horsa glider, Horsa. It was one of the battle horses of the Normandy Landing.
By 1944, he was already an established author. Due to this, he sent as a war correspondent during the Normandy landings and again in Burma. By 1948 he flew his own plane to Australia. On his return he looked around himself and felt that the United Kindom was in a decline. A decision was made to emigrate and he moved his family to a farm in Australia. He died there in 1960.
Many of his novels have been adapted into films. I am hoping to find a film based on the one I just finished reading, Pied Piper, as it has the potential to be an excellent film.
The actress, Geraldine Fitzgerald (1913 – 2005), was a cousin of Mr. Shute.
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Bisous,
Léa
poetry, photos and musings oh my! 