''Night Over Water'' is a

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

novel written by author

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett (born 5 June 1949) is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 198 million copies of his works. His books have been sold in over 80 countries. Follett's commercial breakthrough came with ...

in 1991. ''Night Over Water'' is a fictionalized account of the final flight of the Pan American Clipper passenger airplane during the first few days of World War II, early September, 1939. Follett is careful to state that, though the flight and all of the characters are fictional the plane, a

Boeing 314 The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design fro ...

, was real and was nicknamed the "Pan Am Clipper." It was a

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

, an aircraft that landed in the sea, not on an airstrip, powered by 4 propeller engines. It was capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in little more than 24 hours with intermediate stops in

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary in Ireland () is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to the south. Th ...

Foynes, Ireland Foynes (; ) is a town and major port in County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland, located at the edge of hilly land on the southern bank of the Shannon Estuary. The population of the town was 512 as of the 2022 census. Foynes's role as seap ...

Bay of Exploits The Bay of Exploits is a large bay in the northeast of Newfoundland. It extends from the mouth of the Exploits River and opens on to Notre Dame Bay to the north. It is approximately 1,000 square kilometers (386 sq. miles) in size and contains ...

at Botwood, Newfoundland and Shediac Bay, Canada, at each of which stops Follett adds a scene or two of intrigue. This route made the Pan Am Clipper the fastest mode of transatlantic travel at the time — and very appealing to those who wanted to escape from Britain before the start of the war. The tale begins with several separated threads, telling the individual stories of the people who later all end up in this last flight to New York. Though Follett bundles all these together, the events the characters share while travelling with the clipper are still told through the perspectives introduced before. Each of these main characters is heading for his own interests in the beginning but soon they melt together. The theme is the importance of recognizing the threat of

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

and also a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

message of women standing up for themselves.

List of Characters

* Tom Luther - enigmatic passenger with a mystery mission to kidnap a fleeing passenger * Eddie Deakin -

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

being blackmailed by the kidnapping of his wife into helping Tom Luther * Carl Hartmann - German Jewish physicist fleeing Nazis * Clive Membury - British passenger * Baron Gabon - French Jewish aristocrat helping Carl Hartmann flee * The Oxenfords (Lord, Lady, Elizabeth, Percy, Margaret) - wealthy English family. Lord Oxenford is a Nazi sympathizer who will be arrested if he remains in England another week. Margaret is his 19-year-old rebellious daughter. Lady Oxenford is traveling with the priceless Delhi Suite jewels. * Harry Marks - charming young lower class English jewel thief jumping bail to America * Diana Lovesey - beautiful 34-year-old Englishwoman running away from an unhappy marriage * Mark Alder - 35-year-old American radio scriptwriter running away with Diana Lovesey, friend of Lulu Bell * Mervyn Lovesey - Diana's 38-year-old handsome but controlling British industrialist husband who wants his wife back * Nancy Lenehan - tough-minded 40-year-old American businesswoman rushing home to save her shoe factory from being sold off by her sneaky younger brother falls in love with Mervyn Lovesey * Peter Black - 38-year-old brother of Nancy Lenehan, racing to a board meeting to vote his sister out * Nat Ridgeway - Nancy's mentor in business and former beau * Captain Marvin Baker - Clipper pilot * First Officer Johnny Dott - Clipper co-pilot * Mickey Finn - Eddie Deakin's deputy flight engineer * Lulu Bell - famous American actress * Princess Lavinia - Russian princess escaping to America * Steve Appleby - Eddie Deakin's old Navy buddy * Vincini, Joe and Kid - thugs who kidnapped Eddie's wife * Ollis Field - F.B.I. agent escorting the extradited Frank Gordon to America * Frank Gordon A.K.A. Frankie Gordino - handsome American mobster, wanted in the US for rape, murder and arson

External links

Ken Follett's Night Over Water - official site
{{Ken Follett 1991 British novels Novels set during World War II Novels by Ken Follett Fiction set in 1939 Aviation novels Macmillan Publishers books