Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Cruise of The Breadwinner
The Cruise of The Breadwinner
The Cruise of The Breadwinner
Ebook74 pages1 hour

The Cruise of The Breadwinner

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

The Cruise of the Breadwinner is an adventure at sea, following Snowy as he comes of age through a shower of sea-spray and bullets. The youngest crew member on a coastal patrol boat, he longs for action as his sharp eyes pick out distant plane battles and his ears strain to the sound of faint gun-fire. But when finally the war envelops him and his crew-mates in its terrible grasp, he must face the realities of pain, fear, and death. Rescuing two downed pilots, one English and one German, the humanity of the enemy and the true cost of war become all too clear. Here Bates exhibits his staggering ability to write character, building an exhilarating tension on board with the dynamic between the grumbling yet skilful engine operator, the wide eyed enthusiasm of Snowy, and the rotund, clumsily tender Captain.

We witness the impact of war's heroics and futility on the boat and the boy during a short, violent voyage off the coast of England, told with such fluency and lightness of touch that it is a tale of action as well as beauty.

The New York Times said that Bates "painted it all with a loose, sure brush that does not waste a stroke.”
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 6, 2015
ISBN9781448215393
The Cruise of The Breadwinner
Author

H.E. Bates

H. E. Bates was born in 1905 in the shoe-making town of Rushden, Northamptonshire, and educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he worked as a reporter and as a clerk in a leather warehouse. Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands, particularly his native Northamptonshire, where he spent many hours wandering the countryside. His first novel, The Two Sisters (1926) was published by Jonathan Cape when he was just twenty. Many critically acclaimed novels and collections of short stories followed. During WWII he was commissioned into the RAF solely to write short stories, which were published under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X'. His first financial success was Fair Stood the Wind for France (1944), followed by two novels about Burma, The Purple Plain (1947) and The Jacaranda Tree (1949) and one set in India, The Scarlet Sword (1950). Other well-known novels include Love for Lydia (1952) and The Feast of July (1954). His most popular creation was the Larkin family which featured in five novels beginning with The Darling Buds of May in 1958. The later television adaptation was a huge success. Many other stories were adapted for the screen, the most renowned being The Purple Plain (1947) starring Gregory Peck, and The Triple Echo (1970) with Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed. H. E. Bates married in 1931, had four children and lived most of his life in a converted granary near Charing in Kent. He was awarded the CBE in 1973, shortly before his death in 1974.

Read more from H.E. Bates

Related to The Cruise of The Breadwinner

Related ebooks

Action & Adventure Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Cruise of The Breadwinner

Rating: 4.749999875 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

4 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This novella tells of the little fishing boat 'The Breadwinner',which during one of it's trips during the middle phase of WW2, picks up firstly a British Spitfire pilot and later the German pilot of a Messerschmitt. Both of them shot down. It is the interplay of feelings and the sometimes surprising reactions of the flyers and of the crew members that make this story such a fine one.H.E.Bates is I feel,the finest exponent of the novella,or short novel,which is a very difficult thing to write satisfactorily .

Book preview

The Cruise of The Breadwinner - H.E. Bates

dbook_preview_excerpt.html}Xˎ6z_Udh3=d6dII,.hYY#f3/s.%UWu<@tI}{z~z|H9?>ylzx<>ۑ%fU/rqQ\saVvF5&x5[qLnT8]>΃F:|y$ . kؙNjtrRi"ox8!FrO:uiWM9z5ݚc#4Y$J) F}11T( OYe 7J`xt:0|V;O38AaL;(cw03?^ DiQF01U 009tip`yPM ^,u<,j>$_% Fk%LQ|Kt\<`݂( "0MW&0 ? gDE#ieKD\(Qﭙr`hz=z:g0`-qefT_|=9]˄|;E& D7a48ˇ_  .&lNV/nw-qTm2%;, [gGw) &&Fk 9(K+ޛG(QxN=o[B=pJ}9|PψdFt.Aڐi!su/I=a!ʹTn5^2LSH&&]Wټr/pxk%.=ۻ6!*#H#G'v߱/ᲜA.iXN~X)6]QUՇr9>/R}]54Sγ$2uqͤ_toj ɰI+kپccin> ?9daf=oBx ⛃_nc_ zi/\0A'p2١Kf'R]RKm|s\U6#e123
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1