Jonathan CapeThis is a thoroughly enjoyable book. I do not pretend to be a cricket buff, but the game is presented as a cornerstone of English life via two of the main characters who are champions with the bat. The tock of runs scored in county cricket resonates as background noise to the plot lines. This is counter-balanced by the relentless thunder of mortar encountered during service in World War I. Service and its accompanying obedience are themes cast in unfavourable light through the shocking casualties of war. They are also called into question by the suffragettes whose increasingly militant movement is unsettling the status quo. So, the background is a particularly tumultuous time in history and the characters are particularly believable in their attempts to navigate their course through it.
BiP staff review by Sue
