Alvesdon

The beautifully rendered new novel from preeminent WWII historian James Holland, chronicling the impact of the war on one British family and their small village

The village of Alvesdon has been home to the Castell family for generations. But in 1939, the village’s tranquility is about to be shattered once more by the storm clouds of war. As three generations of the family gather, they must all face the prospect of their lives being transformed beyond recognition.

As rumors of the conflict give way to reality and the younger members of the family are called up to fight, those who remain must battle to keep the home fires burning and the farm afloat, and relationships are tested as never before. The gentle certainties of rural life are replaced by the urgent clamor of battle, in the air, at sea and on land, where events unfold with dizzying rapidity and unexpected consequences.

Stretching from the glorious yet uneasy summer of 1939 to the Battle of Britain the following year, Alvesdon paints a compelling and immersive portrait of how World War II upended everything. For one family and for a community, their way of life will never be the same.