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This is a piece of recent history I had very little knowledge of – how in The Second World War, Britain (and latterly America) found itself in conflict not only with Germany, but with France as well. The Vichy government opposed the allies from its North African strongholds, causing a great loss of life and equipment. Often these were brutal encounters, but more than that they were an irritating distraction for the allies as they tried to concentrate on fighting the main enemies. (It must have been quite discombobulating to volunteer – or be conscripted – into the British Army to [at least in part] defend what had happened to France, and then find yourself getting shot at by Frenchmen.) If I’m honest, I’m not a great fan of all that Alistair Maclean derring-do stuff (you can keep your C.S. Forester as well). So there was an element of this book’s structure – battle after engagement after battle – which I found a little wearying. But then some of the descriptions do carry a great deal of vim and excitement, and I began to suspect by the end that how much I enjoyed each particular chapter depended on what kind of mood I was in at that moment, rather than anything the author actually did. This is an interesting tale, told in an uncluttered and straightforward style. Like many narratives of this period it has quite definite good guys and bad guys, and when you read about some of the bad guys in Vichy France – still seeming to believe that the Nazis were right even after Hitler’s death – you are astounded at how wrong-headed, and unable to admit errors of judgement, some men can be.

This is an amazing book. It first it seems very surface level but once you dive in you find that there is so much depth. It had me in tears serveral times.

Have to say...it does surpass Pride and Prejudice. This novel is a latter work of Austen's. The character descriptions are beautifully written and the nuances so well captured.