The Battle of Britain rages and two young RAF pilots from very different stations in life must somehow find common ground—and stay alive.
On the eve of World War II, working-class Eddy Beane is a flight instructor in London. He successfully completes dangerous espionage missions for Air Commodore Keith Park and takes on society-girl June Stephenson as a student. Her ex-fiancé, Dudley Thane, is also a flyer, but upper-class and Cambridge-educated. When the German Luftwaffe attacks England in 1940, Eddy and Dudley end up serving in the same Spitfire squadron. Aerial combat is intense, and both men show their skills and courage, but can they set aside jealousy and class differences to become fighting brothers for the defence of Britain?
Writing Interview Questions.
Why did you choose to write your book in this era?
Hi Beatrice! This is Brodie Curtis and thank you very much for having me on today!
ANGELS and BANDITS is my second historical novel and it follows-on to THE FOUR BELLS, my debut novel which portrays events during the Great War. Protagonist Eddy Beane is the answer to a loose thread from my first book, and we follow Eddy’s story into The Battle of Britain, those heady days when Britain stood alone in 1940.
But my inspiration for ANGELS and BANDITS goes beyond a sequel and is rooted in deep respect and admiration for the Royal Air Force’s defence of unrelenting German Luftwaffe bombing attacks in August and September of 1940. For those of us who have never experienced war in our day to day lives, and hopefully never will, just imagine London in late summer 1940: The wireless reports a raid has been spotted over the Kent coast and warns all citizens to take cover. Sirens wail, ack-ack guns boom and in between come the droning sounds of bomber engines from somewhere high overhead. Explosions, death and destruction become part of daily life.
Contemporary images of RAF fighter pilots capture the mostly boyish countenances of young men who were inexperienced in life but tasked with the weighty life-saving responsibility of protecting civilians. It was up to them to intercept the German Luftwaffe and all of its daunting scale, efficiency and weaponry. It is the story of those young men and how they dug deep within themselves to accomplish the task that inspired me.
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| Pilots relax in the crew room at Fowlmere in 1940. Devon, S A. (Mr) RAF Official Photographer. Public domain. |
I was stirred beyond words reading Churchill’s war-time speeches and famous line: “Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few.” Walking by The Battle of Britain sculpture on Victoria Embankment in London, opposite the London Eye, was terrifically inspiring. A quick YouTube search turned up clips of the Spitfire in action that took my breath away. And I must admit that watching Michael Caine’s movie The Battle of Britain, for the umpteenth time, still gives me chills.
What is the most surprising thing you discovered while you were researching this era?
The RAF Fighter Pilots were a far more diverse group than I had imagined when I started researching ANGELS and BANDITS. I had imagined RAF fighter pilots as largely educated young gentlemen from mostly well-off families. Historically, that had been true, but by 1940 things were changing. Eighty percent of Fighter Command was British, ten percent from Commonwealth countries and the other ten percent from occupied Europe, with large contingents from Poland and Czechoslovakia.
A large chunk of the British pilots had come through the Volunteer Reserve created by the British government in 1936. Men through the Volunteer Reserve route were typically uneducated commoners which meant they would join their squadrons as Sergeant Pilots and could not be officers like the educated young gentlemen who joined the RAF through the traditional route.
When an RAF pilot “scrambled” with his Squadron of twelve, his focus was on the orders coming through his headset and maintaining his place in strict formation until combat began and the formation broke apart. Teamwork was critical. A common man Sergeant Pilot might be on the wing of a Flight Lieutenant Oxbridge man or Etonian and relied on for cover. Or vice versa. Class differences were irrelevant at twenty thousand feet, only flying skills, verve and courage were of consequence. Whatever their backgrounds, the RAF pilots had to fly as efficient, cohesive teams. As a Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot, Richard Hillary, mused in his auto-biography The Last Enemy: “Was there perhaps a new race of Englishmen arising out of this war, a race of men bred by the war, a harmonious synthesis of the governing class and the great rest of England; that synthesis of disparate backgrounds and upbringings to be seen at its most obvious best in R.A.F. Squadrons?” My characters in ANGELS and BANDITS are forced to achieve the harmonious synthesis that Hillary speaks of.
Can you share something about the book that isn’t covered in the blurb?
Another loose thread from my debut novel is played out in ANGELS and BANDITS. This one takes my protagonist, Eddy Beane, on a flight into Nazi Germany before the war, in 1938. By that time, Eddy has learned to fly in London, and is conducting espionage missions to photograph the Luftwaffe’s aircraft buildup at the request of his aviation mentor, Commodore Keith Park.
To set the stage for my Germany scene, a strange letter arrives in the fall of 1938 that forces Eddy’s Uncle Al to consider sheltering a young German woman, Lotte Schroder, who is in danger from the Nazis. Eddy is scheduled to make another espionage flight for Park, so he ties the two together and makes a stop in Germany on his way home to assess Lotte’s circumstances for his Uncle. Eddy and Lotte are confronted by the Gestapo, and Eddy learns first-hand about the Nazis’ far-reaching influence and cruelty. He and Lotte only narrowly escape. Park takes stock of the situation and, given Lotte’s hatred of the Nazis, finds a place for her in Britain’s intelligence community.
If you had to describe your protagonist, in three words, what would those three words be?
Indefatigable, Ambitious and Courageous.
What are you currently working on?
My third historical novel takes me into the era of Mississippi river Showboats in the years before the American Civil War. Showboats chugged into river towns with people lined on the banks for their arrival, watching the billowing smokestacks and listening to the sounds from the happy calliope. Many of them would board the docked vessel for an evening of theatre, song and dance. The Showboat genre has some quite romantic aspects and is very much under-fictionalized in my view. My protagonists are inspired by family lore.
Currently, I am researching away, learning all I can about life on the river, the workings of Mississippi riverboats and the entertainment provided and pleasures taken on showboat excursions. Now that Covid seems to have loosened its grip, I hope to travel through towns along the Big Muddy this year and stop in on museums, historical societies and who knows where all else to unearth photographs and anecdotes that inspire scenes in my new book!
Personal Interview Questions.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to read and review books when I’m not writing. I’ve gotten into the habit of jotting down my short “takes,” just a paragraph or two, when I’m done reading something. I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of world war fiction and I’ve published more than a 100 of my takes on my website: Brodie Curtis's Takes on War Fiction + Book and Movie Reviews - Brodie Curtis Author I’ve also posted quite a few book reviews on non-world war historical fiction, many of which have been published in the Historical Novels Review.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Growing up, my father was a college football coach (American style that is) so of course I wanted to be a football player. I was able to play all the way through college, so I very much scratched that itch. I have some great friendships to show for it as well as, unfortunately, some lingering aches and pains!
What is the best part of your day?
The best part of my day for getting work done is the morning. Up and at them with a cup of coffee and usually the words just flow! But I’m going to cheat and say the other best part of day is, when we’re at home together in Colorado, cocktail hour before dinner with wife Sue. A glass of wine, some Coldplay, Grace Potter or Chris Stapleton overhead, sun setting on the Rockies, and catching up on the day’s events with my beautiful wife!
Either or!
Tea or coffee: Coffee
Hot or cold: Hot
Movie or book: Book
Morning person or Night owl: Morning Person
City or country: Country. But this one is close! I’m from “West Central” not far from Tom Sawyer’s stomping grounds and still spend time there when I can but have lived in cities for many years.
Social Media or book: Book.
Paperback or ebook: Paperback.
Raised in the Midwest, Brodie Curtis was educated as a lawyer and left the corporate world to embrace life in Colorado with his wife and two sons.
Curtis is the author of THE FOUR BELLS, a novel of The Great War, which is the product of extensive historical research, including long walks through the fields of Flanders, where much of the book's action is set. His second novel, ANGELS AND BANDITS, takes his protagonists into The Battle of Britain. Curtis is currently working on a novel set on a Mississippi Riverboat prior to the Civil War.
A lover of history, particularly American history and the World Wars, Curtis reviews historical fiction for the Historical Novels Review and more than 100 of his published reviews and short takes on historical novels can be found on his website.
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Thank you for hosting the blog tour for Angels and Bandits!
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Mary Anne
The Coffee Pot Book Club