William Heinemann Ltd 1st Edition
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"Every window within sight was shattered. The rooms stood open to the rain. The curtains blew about, sopping and forlorn. Behind him, in the garage, lay his wife, Joan, sleeping in an overcoat. Baby Joan slept beside her, with 6-year-old Phyllis and 3 year old Peter and Nurse in makeshift beds on the oil-stained floor. Peter Corbett, dazed and stiff, stood looking at the wreck of his house and garden...
The first bomb had fallen shortly before midnight. Instantly the lights had gone. Huddled with Joan and the children, he had heard the crash of masonry, the sirens of police cars. "I think this must be an air raid." said Peter Corbett, uncertainly... Thousands of men like Peter Corbett, men with wives, children, homes, jobs, throughout the Midland cities of England, stood asking themselves the same questions, in the same bewilderment. Who was "the enemy"? Was the country really "at War"? Why hadn't they heard the planes?... The phone went dead. There was no gas, electricity, radio, newspaper, milk for the children. Water was scarce, the sewers burst. But each morning Southampton, Peter corbett's town, rallied, became its usual busy, enterprising self, worked to repair the damages. Then at night the planes came, flying at great heights, beyond range of lights or guns, taking no aim, just dumping their stuff. When cholera broke out, Peter smuggled his family out of the city to his little boat at Hamble, for there must be some safety on the quiet rivers of England. On the Sonia, "bought sixteenth-hand," Peter and Joan, working shoulder to shoulder, found a kind of water gipsies' life till the dramatic hour which brought him sharp up against the decision of any man with a family in the next World War: whether to join the colors, or to see his people to safety as his only vital job. ORDEAL is no "scare" story. It is a fast, rich, exciting novel, written with complete simplicity, utter lack of emotionalism. It is not so much a study of war as of the human spirit, of its infinite capacity to endure, and to re-shape the world to its destiny - though that world be torn asunder." |
| What Happened to the Corbetts was originally published by William Heinemann Ltd, for the British Market in 1939. William Morrow & Company (U.S. Publisher) published this story under the title, Ordeal, the same year. |
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(1) The book's dust jacket cover should match the image shown at the left. (2) Confirm that the copyright date is 1939 with no later printings indicated. (3) Confirm that William Heinemann Ltd is consistently listed as the publisher of your book. |
| Special thanks to Mr. Johan Bakker for first edition dust jacket image contributed for this page. |
| *The collecting tips on the The Nevil Shute Book Page website are only provided as a tool to assist in identifying the original publications of Nevil Shute titles. Several people have generously contributed information and images to enhance its appearance and accuracy, however, please keep in mind that this site will always be a work in progress and have the potential for error. Regardless of the author you collect, I would strongly recommend that consumers/collectors never rely solely on a single source for determining the value or status of their book, including this website. Always seek multiple reliable resources to evaluate your edition. |
