Book description
From the Phoney War of 1939 to the Battle of Britain in 1940, the
pilots of Hornet Squadron learn their lessons the hard way. Hi-jinks are
all very well on the ground, but once in a Hurricane's cockpit, the best
killers keep their wits close. Newly promoted Commanding Officer Fanny
Barton has a job on to whip the Hornets into shape before they face the
Luftwaffe's seasoned pilots. And sometimes Fighter Command, with its
obsolete tactics and stiff doctrines, is the real menace. As with all
Robinson's novels, the raw dialogue, rich black humour and brilliantly
rendered, adrenalin-packed dogfights bring the Battle of Britain, and
the brave few who fought it, to life. 'The dialogue is convincing, the
story is emotionally moving and it contains some of the best
descriptions of battle I've read' Time Out. Derek Robinson, the son of
a policeman, read history at Cambridge before working in advertising in
London and New York. His novel Goshawk Squadron was shortlisted for the
Booker Prize in 1973.
