Shadow of the Zeppelin

It is now a hundred years since World War 1 broke out, and this is the turbulent backdrop against which Bernard Ashley's latest novel takes place. It was a time of great change - Man had only very recently taken to the air and, with the world now at war, also a time of huge uncertainty. The story is told from three very different perspectives: Young Freddie Castle's, on the ground in Woolwich, his older brother Will's, on the front line in battle-torn France, and the crew of Zeppelin L31, tasked with bombing England's capital city. These three quite disparate and contrasting viewpoints allow the author to weave an emotionally complex tale that gives the reader a very real, three-dimensional picture of life in a time of literally earth-shattering conflict. Freddie, like the majority of his fellow Londoners, is vehemently anti-German and can't understand why his beloved Will won't take the King's shilling and sign up; a shocking incident finally pushes Will into uniform and sends him away to fight. The third point of view is provided by possibly the story's most interesting character, Ernst Stender, a German Jew. There are many questions in this book; the biggest probably being why we never seem to learn the hard lessons History teaches us; why, only twenty one years after the end of 'The War to End All Wars', did the another, even worse war break out? Bernard Ashley doesn't provide any easy answers, but what he does do is take his readers on fascinating trip back in time to meet some great characters, and also allow us look at an event that shaped the world in which we now live.

Suggested Reading Age 9+