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Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML:In the firmament of great historical novelists, Anne Perry is a star of the greatest magnitude. First there were her acclaimed Victorian mysteries, sparkling with passion and suspense. Now readers have embraced this bestselling new series of World War I novels--which juxtapose the tranquil life of the English countryside with the horrors of war.By April of 1915, as chaplain Joseph Reavley tends to the soldiers in his care, the nightmare of trench show more warfare is impartially cutting down England's youth. On one of his rescue forays into no-man's-land, Joseph finds the body of an arrogant war correspondent, Eldon Prentice. A nephew of the respected General Owen Cullingford, Prentice was despised for his prying attempts to elicit facts that would turn public opinion against the war. Most troublesome to Joseph, Prentice has been killed not by German fire but, apparently, by one of his own compatriots. What Englishman hated Prentice enough to kill him? Joseph is afraid he may know, and his sister, Judith, who is General Cullingford's driver and translator, harbors her own fearful suspicions.
Meanwhile, Joseph and Judith's brother, Matthew, an intelligence officer in London, continues his quiet search for the sinister figure they call the Peacemaker, who, like Eldon Prentice, is trying to undermine the public support for the struggle--and, as the Reavley family has good reason to believe, is in fact at the heart of a fantastic plot to reshape the entire world. An intimate of kings, the Peacemaker kills with impunity, and his dark shadow stretches from the peaceful country lanes of Cambridgeshire to the twin hells of Ypres and Gallipoli.
In this mesmerizing series, Anne Perry has found a subject worthy of her gifts. Illuminating the murderous conflict whose violence still resounds in our consciousness--as well as the souls of men and women who lived it--Shoulder the Sky is a taut, inspiring masterpiece.
From the Hardcover edition.. show less
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My review comments from reading the 1st novel in Anne Perry's World War I series have even greater meaning after reading the 2nd novel in the series.
I remember the special camaraderie that I witnessed when my father was together with his two (2) Army buddies when the three (3) families visited together each year. Somehow I always knew that it was an unparalleled bond of friendship, trust, and love. Meeting these characters has given me almost an insider's look and understanding of how their friendship developed during their time of service during WWII as my father never talked about the war unless he was with his friends and when women and children entered the room the topic immediately changed. show less
My generation seems to be more aware of the history of WWII than WWI so this series became of particular interest to me. Having discovered Anne Perry's writing through her Christmas mysteries, I am very appreciative of the way she is able to craft her stories with descriptive language that truly pulls the reader into the feelings of each character. In this novel, I found her poignant writing in expressing grief to be very meaningful.The story reveals the next steps in the lives of the adult Reavley children (2 brothers and 1 sister) following the loss of their parents in an automobile show more accident. As a reader I couldn't ignore the stark contrast from the living conditions in war time to the trenches to me as I was ensconced with my favorite reading comforts. The author's writing is descriptive to the point that to comment that it is riveting is almost too mild a term.
I remember the special camaraderie that I witnessed when my father was together with his two (2) Army buddies when the three (3) families visited together each year. Somehow I always knew that it was an unparalleled bond of friendship, trust, and love. Meeting these characters has given me almost an insider's look and understanding of how their friendship developed during their time of service during WWII as my father never talked about the war unless he was with his friends and when women and children entered the room the topic immediately changed. show less
Reavley Family — 2 Brots + 2 sisters during War — in trench + home — Battle / War Bloody — need morale up — men fighting for what's right!
By April of 1915, as chaplain Joseph Reavley tends to the soldiers in his care, the nightmare of trench warfare is impartially cutting down England’s youth. On one of his rescue forays into no-man’s-land, Joseph finds the body of an arrogant war correspondent, Eldon Prentice. A nephew of the respected General Owen Cullingford, Prentice was despised for his prying attempts to elicit facts that would turn public opinion against the war. Most troublesome to Joseph, Prentice has been killed not by German fire but, apparently, by one of his own compatriots. What Englishman hated Prentice show more enough to kill him? Joseph is afraid he may know, and his sister, Judith, who is General Cullingford’s driver and translator, harbors her own fearful suspicions. show less
By April of 1915, as chaplain Joseph Reavley tends to the soldiers in his care, the nightmare of trench warfare is impartially cutting down England’s youth. On one of his rescue forays into no-man’s-land, Joseph finds the body of an arrogant war correspondent, Eldon Prentice. A nephew of the respected General Owen Cullingford, Prentice was despised for his prying attempts to elicit facts that would turn public opinion against the war. Most troublesome to Joseph, Prentice has been killed not by German fire but, apparently, by one of his own compatriots. What Englishman hated Prentice show more enough to kill him? Joseph is afraid he may know, and his sister, Judith, who is General Cullingford’s driver and translator, harbors her own fearful suspicions. show less
A novel but one that gives an excellent invite into the lives of soldiers on the front lines during World War I in France. There is mystery as well and subplot involving the lives of a family intimately associated with the war.
A continuation of No Graves as Yet, this novel focuses on Joseph, a chaplain on the front lines in Flanders. An obnoxious war correspondent is killed, and when Joseph realizes that it's murder by a fellow soldier, he is determined to find out who. In the meantime, he and his brother and sister are still trying to identify who was behind their parents' murder, the same person who is attempting to cause chaos in the British government in order to avoid more war.
I always enjoy books by Anne Parry. Up until now most of them have been Victorian mysteries but Shoulder the Sky is the middle book in a new WWI trilogy.
Technically it is a mystery, but it doesn't follow such a predictable formula and seems more part historical novel, part character study, and part mystery. I liked the first book a lot, No Graves as Yet. Shoulder the Sky is also good but the topic was more somber since a lot of this book takes place in the trenches (literally) in Flanders. Some of you would find it interesting that Parry is an international best selling author who is also LDS. Occasionally she writes a piece for Meridian Magazine.
Technically it is a mystery, but it doesn't follow such a predictable formula and seems more part historical novel, part character study, and part mystery. I liked the first book a lot, No Graves as Yet. Shoulder the Sky is also good but the topic was more somber since a lot of this book takes place in the trenches (literally) in Flanders. Some of you would find it interesting that Parry is an international best selling author who is also LDS. Occasionally she writes a piece for Meridian Magazine.
The second in a series of WWI novels by Anne Perry, Shoulder the Sky continues the story of Matthew and Joseph Reavley. We also get a better look at their sister Judith, who, volunteering as an ambulance driver near the Front, proves she is made of some pretty stern stuff.
Several months have elapsed between the end of No Graves As Yet and the beginning of this second novel. The war is well under way, and Joseph must adjust to life as a chaplain in the trenches of the Front Line. Meanwhile, Matthew is still in London, trying to track down the person known as the Peacemaker, a man who wants England out of the war no matter the cost--even if it means abandoning Belgium to the Germans and eventually sharing world domination with the show more Kaiser.
An insensitive and thoroughly unlikeable war correspondant makes an abrasive comment in a field hospital and quickly finds himself the target of the men's frustrations, anger, and fear... and then face-down in a puddle of water in a crater in No Man's Land.
Joseph soon finds himself unravelling a series of events, wondering all the while if he is doing the right thing... and if so, can he see it through to the end? show less
Several months have elapsed between the end of No Graves As Yet and the beginning of this second novel. The war is well under way, and Joseph must adjust to life as a chaplain in the trenches of the Front Line. Meanwhile, Matthew is still in London, trying to track down the person known as the Peacemaker, a man who wants England out of the war no matter the cost--even if it means abandoning Belgium to the Germans and eventually sharing world domination with the show more Kaiser.
An insensitive and thoroughly unlikeable war correspondant makes an abrasive comment in a field hospital and quickly finds himself the target of the men's frustrations, anger, and fear... and then face-down in a puddle of water in a crater in No Man's Land.
Joseph soon finds himself unravelling a series of events, wondering all the while if he is doing the right thing... and if so, can he see it through to the end? show less
2nd of 5 in series. Perry does well with the subject of war. She writes vividly of its discomforts and of the comradeship among those who experience these discomforts together.
She is less than convincing --to me-- when she writes of "intelligence work" and how Matthew hopes to solve the puzzle of the "Peacemaker."
It may be a silly quibble, but Perry never explains how the person known to his allies as "the Peacemaker" is suddenly dubbed by the same moniker by those who seek to stop him.
She is less than convincing --to me-- when she writes of "intelligence work" and how Matthew hopes to solve the puzzle of the "Peacemaker."
It may be a silly quibble, but Perry never explains how the person known to his allies as "the Peacemaker" is suddenly dubbed by the same moniker by those who seek to stop him.
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198+ Works 55,037 Members
Anne Perry was born Juliet Hume on October 28, 1938 in Blackheath, London. Sent to Christchurch, New Zealand to recover from a childhood case of severe pneumonia, she became very close friends with another girl, Pauline Parker. When Perry's family abandoned her, she had only Parker to turn to, and when the Parkers planned to move from New Zealand, show more Parker asked that Perry be allowed to join them. When Parker's mother disagreed, Perry and Parker bludgeoned her to death. Perry eventually served five and a half years in an adult prison for the crime. Once she was freed, she changed her name and moved to America, where she eventually became a writer. Her first Victorian novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published in 1979. Although the truth of her past came out when the case of Mrs. Parker's murder was made into a movie (Heavenly Creatures), Perry is still a popular author and continues to write. She has written over 50 books and short story collections including the Thomas Pitt series, the William Monk series, and the Daniel Pitt series. Her story, Heroes, won the 2001 Edgar Award for Best Short Story. Her title's Blind Justice and The Angel Court Affair made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Shoulder the Sky
- People/Characters
- Joseph Reavley; Judith Reavley; Matthew Reavley; Eldon Prentice; Owen Cullingford; Samuel Wetherall (show all 7); Richard Mason
- Important events
- World War I
- Epigraph
- If here today the cloud of thunder lours
Tomorrow it will hie on far behests;
The flesh will grieve on other bones than ours
Soon, and the soul will mourn in other breasts.
The troubles of our proud and angry ... (show all)dust
Are from eternity, and shall not fail.
Bear them we can, and if we can we must.
Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.
--A. E. Housman - Dedication
- To my stepfather,
Major W. A. B. "Bill" Perry,
one of the last officers to leave the beaches of Dunkirk,
June 1940 - First words
- It was shortly after three in the afternoon.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He stood smartly to attention, and saluted the cross that bore the words
MAJOR SAMUEL WETHERALL
KILLED IN ACTION, MAY 25, 1915.
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