''What Happened to the Corbetts'' (US title: ''Ordeal'') is a novel by

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...

, a fictional depiction of the effect of aerial bombing on the British city of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, a major maritime centre. It was written in 1938, and published in April 1939 by

William Heinemann Ltd William Heinemann Ltd., with the imprint Heinemann, was a London publisher founded in 1890 by William Heinemann. Their first published book, 1890's ''The Bondman'', was a huge success in the United Kingdom and launched the company. He was joined ...

, when the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

was already a very likely development. The novel addresses the issues of the aftermath of bombing, such as the spread of disease from lack of clean water, and what may be done to relieve the distress of those affected by it although the author concedes he "overlooked the importance of fire" as a consequence of bombing raids. On the initial day of publication, a thousand copies of the novel were distributed free of charge to members of the Air Raid Precautions team to inform them of what they might expect. The novel does not say which nation is bombing Southampton and many other towns in England. France and the United States are neutral, but the

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

s except possibly Ireland declare war on Britain's side. Early in chapter 1 there is a mention of a newspaper cartoon which "represented the Prime Minister, very jocular, dangling a carrot before two donkeys separated from him by a wire fence. One of the donkeys had the head of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, and the other,

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

Plot

War begins for the United Kingdom after a surprise aerial bombing of 20 cities, the first of many attacks. Young solicitor Peter Corbett, wife Joan, and their three young children leave

after their house and Corbett's offices are damaged, friends are killed, and a cholera epidemic begins. They move aboard their small yacht, kept on the river Hamble, but as disease spreads and supplies diminish, flee the area. They sail to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, but because of the fear of disease, other ports require them to provide a certificate of health or wait in quarantine; the Corbetts do not want to risk being bombed during the three weeks of quarantine. In the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

the family rescues two downed

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

aviators from . Their commanding officer gives the Corbetts supplies and suggests that the family sail to neutral France. While in quarantine at

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, a friendly customs official states his belief that Britain will win the war because international horror of the enemy's

terror bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...

has caused the

s to enter the war and the neutral United States to provide aid. Corbett's family boards an ocean liner for Canada; because of his nautical experience, Corbett returns to the ''Victorious'' to accept a commission as sub-lieutenant from the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

References

External links

*
''What Happened to the Corbetts''
on Google Books
Images of covers of various editions
– Nevil Shute Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:What Happened To The Corbetts 1939 British novels Novels by Nevil Shute Novels set in Hampshire Southampton Novels set during World War II Heinemann (publisher) books