Pied Piper (Vintage International) - Softcover

Shute, Nevil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307474011 ISBN 13: 9780307474018

Publisher: Vintage, 2010

Synopsis

One of Nevil Shute's most exciting novels, Pied Piper is the gripping story of one elderly man's daring attempt to rescue a group of children during the Nazi invasion of France.

It is the spring of 1940 and John Sidney Howard wants nothing more than to enjoy his fishing holiday in southern France in peace and quiet. However, the Nazi conquest of the Low Countries puts an end to that, and he is asked by friends to take their two children back to England. Crossing France with his young charges seems simple enough at first--until the Germans invade, rendering them fugitives. As Howard struggles to sneak across France, he picks up several more helpless children of various nationalities. They walk for miles in an endless river of refugees, strafed by German planes and hiding in barns at night. By the time Howard and his flock of little ones reach the Channel, his plan of escaping on a fishing boat has become utterly impossible, and in their final confrontation with the invaders, all their lives are at stake.

About this title

Review:

"Pied Piper is the work of a master storyteller. . . . It piles up dramatic force with quiet realism. . . . A novel for more than one reading." --The New York Times

"A novelist of intelligent and engaging quality, deservedly popular.... Nevil Shute was, in brief, the sort of novelist who genuinely touches the imagination and feeling." --The Times (London)

Book Description:

As recommended on BBC4's A Good Read - 'A very good writer...simple, elegant and readable...a fantastic story' Jonathan Coe

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0307474011
• ISBN 13: 9780307474018
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320