Stephen Morris

This novella, written in 1923, was only published posthumously. Although chiefly concerned with aviation and aircraft design in the years immediately following the First World War, it also works well as a classic love story. The eponymous central character had served as an Air Force pilot during the war and on graduating from Oxford looks to aviation for a possible career. Uncertain, however, about his prospects, he breaks off his engagement to his university sweetheart Helen, explaining his predicament after a good job in rubber had fallen through: “I haven't been able to find anything that gives me the faintest chance of marrying, now or in the future.” The novel goes on to describe his progress as a mathematically-minded aircraft designer and his prowess as a pilot for a construction firm (inspired by the author's own role with Vickers). When his job eventually seems secure enough to marry, he thinks about resuming his relationship with Helen.

The author, Nevil Shute (né Norway, born 17 January 1899) grew up in London. His father famously was head of the General Post Office in Dublin during the rebellion of 1916. In 1918, after completing training at Woolwich, he was deemed unfit for an army commission due to having a stammer and instead his war service was spent on the home front as a private in the Sussex Regiment. His brother, Frederick, had been wounded in action in June 1915 and died in a military hospital in France. Like the central character of this novel, the author studied at Oxford, graduating in 1922. Also in line with that character, he worked as an aeronautical engineer after leaving university, firstly with de Havilland and then with Vickers. He wrote his first novels in 1923 (this one) and 1924 but neither were published during his life time. His third novel, Marazan, was published in 1926 and other publications followed. Having set up his own construction company in 1931, he found less time for writing. He left the company in 1938 and began to devote his life to writing and was published prolifically. He served in the Second World War both as a naval weapons engineer and an official war correspondent. He emigrated to Australia in 1950 and settled with his family in rural Victoria. His most important novels, A Town like Alice and Round the Bend were published soon after. A partial autobiography, Slide Rule, was published in 1954.

In addition to the central character, many of the other characters in the novel had backgrounds connected with First World War aviation. His employer, Rawdon, had come to prominence in wartime:
“He had merely been one of a number of gentleman of private means who had been flying and designing aeroplanes obscurely since 1909... His first machine reached the Front after a long series of delays early in 1916; the historic Rawdon Rat. As soon as the first experimental Rat made its appearance, he was organised, protesting, into a limited company and bidden to design like fun; the rank of captain in the R.F.C. was bestowed on him to save him from conscription. But no encouragement was needed. The next production was the Robin... Next came the Ratcatcher, an improved Rat... followed by the Reindeer... Last of all the machines to be used in the war came the Rabbit, a single-seater of phenomenal performance.”