Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14893 in Books
• Published on: 1991-07-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
Spanning more than 50 years, this is a novel of dark secrets and extraordinary revelations. It starts when Leonora Galloway visits the war grave of her "father" and discovers that he was killed 11 months before she was born. The author's other books include "Into the Blue" and "Past Caring".

From the Back Cover
Six months after her husband's sudden death, Leonora Galloway sets off for a holiday in Paris with her daughter Penelope. At last the time has come when secrets can be shared and explanations begin...

Their journey starts with an unscheduled stop at the imposing Thiepval Memorial to the dead of the Battle of the Somme near Amiens. Amongst those commemorated is Leonora's father. The date of his death is recorded as 30th April, 1916. But Leonora wasn't born until 14th March 1917.

Penelope at once supposes a simple wartime illegitimacy as the clue to her mother's unhappy childhood and the family's sundered connections with her aristocratic heritage, about which she has always known so little.

But nothing could have prepared her, or the reader, for the extraordinary story that is about to unfold.

About the Author
Robert Goddard was born in Hampshire. He read History at Cambridge and worked as an educational administrator in Devon before becoming a full-time novelist. He is the author of many bestselling novels, including Into the Blue which won the first WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award and was dramatized for TV in 1997, starring John Thaw.

Customer Reviews

Superlative writing
I have only recently discovered Robert Goddard having picked up a copy of Never Go Back on offer. Deciding to read his earlier work, I have found him to be an author of remarkably eloquent and intelligent vocabulary, written in manner that does not betray the use of a thesaurus. In Pale Battalions goes beyond the genre of mystery or thriller and can only be described as pure English Literature. If you're looking for a refreshing and stimulating story, the kind that you'll think about when many other reads are forgotten about, then choose this before you look at the latest 'Man Booker' winner.

Superb - my favourite book of all time
When I was little, I always used to like to re-read Watership Down. My copy of it is almsot falling to pieces.

In Pale Batallions is the equivalent book for adults! It's a superb story, very moving in places - especially the effect that a moment's cowardice has had on the rest of Hallow's life and the fact that he's only seen his daughter twice since then.

The story is told in a very interesting way: we start of by hearing Leonora's recollections told in the present day of her life in post World War I Meongate, then we hear Franklin's recollections of life at the time of the murder during the War. Each successive person's narrative (in which not every event is told truthfully!) gradually adds to our understanding of what happened. It's the ultimate in peeling-off-the-layers-of-the-onion storytelling.

The atmosphere and appearance of Meongate are told flawlessly: you could be there yourself.

Maybe the "wicked stepmother" (actually she's Leonora's step-grandmother) is painted just slightly too unsubtlely and made just a bit too evil - she would benefit from just a few redeeming features - but that's only a minor criticism.

I like the way that Goddard uses real places (apart from precise buildings which are fictitious) so it's possible to trace people's journeys on the map or visit the places themselves. I've walked and cycled along the disused railway track between West Meon, Droxford and Wickham. I know Winchester and the surrounding countryside.

I cannot think of a better book. It's certainly Robert Goddard's best book - but then with very few exceptions, all his books are good. The only ones which didn't work for me are: Painting the Darkness (lacklustre - didn't warm to the characters at all), Sea Change (utterly dire) and Days Without Number (rather underwhelming, especially the scenes in Greece). But three bad books out of a total of nineteen is not a bad record!

Classic Robert Goddard
Six months after her husband's sudden death, Leonora Galloway sets off for a holiday in Paris with her daughter Penelope. At last the time has come when secrets can be shared and explanations begin...
Their journey starts with an unscheduled stop at the imposing Thiepval Memorial to the dead of the Battle of the Somme near Amiens. Amongst those commemorated is Leonora's father. The date of his death is recorded as 30th April, 1916. But Leonora wasn't born until 14th March 1917.
Penelope at once supposes a simple wartime illegitimacy as the clue to her mother's unhappy childhood and the family's sundered connections with her aristocratic heritage, about which she has always known so little. But nothing could have prepared her, or the reader, for the extraordinary story that is about to unfold.
The story is very cleverly designed, every event fits into its place like in a giant gigsaw puzzle. Little by little the reader discovers what secrets lie behind Leonora's past. The book is extremely well read by Tony Britton for BBC audiobooks.