7/29/2019 JEP 31 Aug 13 - Books

1/1

A FORMER teacher keen toshare his experiences ofgrowing up in the Island andstories he learned about thewar and Occupation haspublished his second novel.

Former deputy head teacher atHautlieu John F Hanley startedwhat he is planning to be a seriesof ten historic novels with thefirst called Against The Tide,which was issued last year.

He writes in the first person asfarmers son Jack Renouf, ateenager living in Jersey in 1939.

Jacks friendship with twoyoung women, Caroline andRachel, is explored in the firstbook, and he goes on with hiscommunist uncle to unravel aNazi plot involving diamondsand ruthless villains.

The latest story, The Last Boat,follows on from there and opensvery dramatically with Jack andsome other characters from thefirst book, surviving the sinkingof the troopship Lancastria offFrance in 1940 in whichthousands died.

What follows next is a series ofadventures for them, as alongwith some Jewish ForeignLegionnaires they make theirway across occupied Franceback to the Island.

Adding a more thrillingdimension to the story, is the factthat they are carrying with themconsignments of a component ofearly nuclear energy research,as well as uranium anddiamonds which the Germansand French fifth columnistswould do anything to obtain.

Back in the Island, Jack andhis friends must find a way toescape, while ensuring that theirprecious cargo does not get intothe wrong hands.

John said that he was inspiredto write the books because hismother had narrowly avoidedbeing killed when the Luftwaffebombed St Helier harbour onFriday, 28 June 1940.

In the summer she usuallywalked with her mother and acouple from across the roadaround the harbour after tea.

On that evening, she had astomach ache and so only thecouple went, and the man waskilled in the bombing raid, hesaid.

John said that he had startedThe Last Boat with the sinkingof the Lancastria because theofficial record of what happenedduring that disaster had beenkept secret and is locked awayfor 100 years.

Surviving this disaster makesJack more mature, he said.

This series was not just aboutwarfare, but also about therelationship between Jack andthe two girls who pull him instrange directions, he added.

Published by Matador, TheLast Boat, priced 8.99, is

available from the websitewww.troubador in the book shopsection.

THE sinking of HMT

Lancastria was Britains worstever maritime disaster.

Originally a Cunard liner, theLancastria was requisitioned inApril 1940 and converted into atroopship which took part in theevacuation of Norway.

The vessel was sunk off theFrench port of St Nazaire on 17June 1940 while taking part inOperation Ariel the evacuationfrom Cherbourg and St Malo ofBritish nationals and troopsfrom occupied France two weeksafter the Dunkirk invasion.

Lancastrias official capacitywas 2,200 including 375 crew, butthe captain had been instructedto load on board as many peopleas possible, with estimates ofexactly how many being between4,000 and 9,000.

As well as troops, there were

also civilian refugees includingwomen and children on board.

As HMT Lancastria waitedwest of St Nazaire, the vesselsuffered three direct hits and

sank within 20 minutes, with theloss of over 4,000 lives.

Possibly more died, but thetrue total may never be known.

Over 1,400 tons of oil leaked

into the sea and were set

partially on fire, and the rescueboats picked up survivors whileunder enemy fire.

There were 2,477 survivors,many of whom were exhaustedand covered in oil, some of themloaded on ships bound for theUK.

Churchill was concernedabout the effect on Britishmorale that news of this majorloss of life would have whencoming at the same time as thefall of France.

He ordered that the records onthe Lancastria be sealed and heissued a D-notice to preventsurvivors from speaking about it.

However, the story was brokenin the USA by the New YorkTimes and in Britain by TheScotsman on 26 July over fiveweeks after the tragedy.

27JERSEY EVENING POST Saturday 31 August 2013

BOOKSJ2

RECOMMENDATIONS

CAN you recommend a book?Every Saturday we will feature

readers recommendations and ifyou tell us about a book thatyouve been reading you may win

a Waterstones gift voucher worth25 if your review is published.

Reviews should include thetitle of the book, the author and

in 80 words why you thinkthat the book is a good read.Submissions should be emailedto features@

jerseyeveningpost.com, or sent toBook Reviews, JEP Features,Jersey Evening Post, PO Box 582,JE4 8XQ.

Win a 25voucher fromWaterstonesfor yourbook review

THIS delightful story is full of mysteryand adventure about a girl who is able to

see fairy creatures, but not the nice kind, akind which is incredibly unpleasant.

When she is sent to stay with hergrandmother, she discovers a mysteriousdisappearance which took place decadesago. She is desperate to find answers but isled into further trouble.

This is an awe-inspiring read with lots oftwists and surprises unlike any book Iveever read.

Ana Simmons (11)

THE THIRTEEN TREASURESMichelle Harrison

APRONS AND SILVER SPOONSMollie Moran

Reader

recommendationof

theweek

Waterstones

recommendationof the

week

IN 1931, vivacious 14-year-old Mollie startedwork as a scullery maid in a big London

house. Even after her 15-hour working day shewould still go out socialising.

By the age of 20 she was a cook on a countryestate. She married just before the SecondWorld War and later on, as an officers wife,she travelled the world. Mollie is now 96 andstill has the same zest for life as ever.

She said she had enjoyed her life and triedto find fun in any situation. This is aninspirational memoir full of entertainmentfor the reader.

Agnieszka Czuchra

John Hanleys second novel set during the GermanOccupation begins with a maritime tragedy

Attempt to cover up a sea disaster

HMT Lancastria was originally a Cunard liner

Tale of survival

Novelist John Hanley and (left) thecover of his latest book

ISLAND BOOK CHART

In association withWeek startingMonday 26 August

1) A Street Cat Named Bob James Bowen,

7.99The books about Bob the Street Cat have hardlyleft the chart since they first came out and areproving as popular with our regular readers aswith our summer visitors. If you are still notfamiliar with the tale of friendship between theLondon busker James and the stray ginger cat, itis high time to catch up.

2) The Cuckoo's Calling J K Rowling writingas Robert Galbraith, 16.99When a troubled model falls to her death from asnow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed thatshe has committed suicide. However, her brotherhas his doubts, and calls in private investigatorCormoran Strike to look into the case. Agripping, elegant mystery steeped in theatmosphere of London from the hushed streetsof Mayfair to the backstreet pubs of the East Endto the bustle of Soho this is a classic crimenovel in the tradition of P. D. James and RuthRendell, and marks the beginning of a uniqueseries of mysteries.

3) The Casual Vacancy J K Rowling, 7.99

In the idyllic small town of Pagford, a councillordies and leaves a casual vacancy an emptyseat on the parish council. In the election for hissuccessor that follows, it is clear that behind itspretty faade Pagford is a town at war: rich atwar with poor, wives with husbands, teacherswith pupils.

4) Instructions for a Heatwave MaggieOFarrell, 7.99It is July 1976 and London is in the grip of aheatwave. Robert Riordan tells his wife Greta heis popping out to get a newspaper but he doesnot come back. The search for Robert bringsGretas children two estranged sisters and abrother on the brink of divorce back home,each with different ideas as to where their fathermay have gone. However, none of themsuspects that their mother might have anexplanation which she simply cannot share.

5) The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul DeborahRodriguez, 7.99In a small coffee shop in one of the mostdangerous places on earth, five very differentwomen come together. As they discover there ismore to one another than meets the eye, theyform a unique bond that will forever change theirlives and the lives of many others.

6) The Channel Islands Book Of Days MarkBrocklesby, 9.99Taking you through the year day by day, the new

book from the author of Not the Guide to Jerseycontains quirky, eccentric, amusing andimportant facts and events from different periodsin the history of the islands. Featuring snippets ofinformation gleaned from the vaults of theChannel Islands archives, it will delight residentsand visitors alike.

7) The Racketeer John Grisham, 7.99Malcolm Bannister is a lawyer. He is in prison.Five years ago, the FBI agent set him up as thefall guy for a crime he did not know he wascommitting. He has exhausted every avenue ofappeal and gave up any hope of acquittal. Untilnow.

8) A Dangerous Inheritance Alison Weir,

7.99Lady Katherine Grey, cousin to the formidableQueen Elizabeth I, finds in her chamber in theTower of London old papers belonging to thebastard daughter of Richard III, Kate Plantagenet,who 80 years previously had embarked on adangerous quest to find out what reallyhappened to her cousins, the two young boysremembered in history as the Princes in theTower. Two women separated by time becomelinked by the most famous murder mystery inhistory in this absorbing tale from one of thebestselling British historians.

9) Gone Girl Gillian Flynn, 7.99When Nick Dunnes wife disappears on themorning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Amysfriends reveal that she was afraid of her husband,that she kept secrets from him. Nick denies it. Apolice examination of his computer showsstrange searches. He says they were not made byhim. Then there are the persistent calls on hismobile. So what did happen to the beautiful AmyDunne? Our chart stalwart, it makes for a truly

compulsive reading.10) The Secret Keeper Kate Morton, 7.99Laurel, a well-known actress, haunted by themystery of a shocking crime she witnessed as asixteen-year-old girl on her family farm in Suffolk,returns to her childhood home and begins topiece together a secret history of three strangersfrom vastly different backgrounds broughttogether by chance in wartime London. Shiftingbetween the 1930s, the 1960s and the present,the book is a tense and atmospheric story ofsecrets, murder and enduring love.