''Requiem For A Wren'' 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 to protect his enginee ...

. It was first published in 1955 by

William Heinemann Ltd William Heinemann Ltd., with the imprint Heinemann, was a London-based 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 ...

. It was published in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

under the title ''The Breaking Wave''.

Plot summary

The late 1940s story concerns two English women,

Wrens Wrens are a family (biology), family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genus, genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely di ...

, and two Australian brothers. It is narrated by one of the brothers, Alan Duncan. His brother Bill, a

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

frogman A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater. The term often applies more to professional rather than recreational divers, especially those working in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some Europea ...

, has been killed in action, and Alan is now returning to his wealthy parents' prosperous

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

(ranch) in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Alan has studied as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and fought as an RAF pilot in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but lost both feet when his plane crashed. He has recently qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in England. His arrival home is marred by the apparent suicide, a few hours earlier, of a young Englishwoman named Jessie Proctor, who was his parents' housekeeper. 'Proctor' and 'Prentice' are also names of British aircraft – the Percival Proctor and the

Percival Prentice The Percival Prentice was a basic trainer of the Royal Air Force in the early postwar period. It was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel Landing gear, undercarriage. Front seating was in a side-by-side configuration with a rear seat p ...

. Nevil Shute owned and flew a Proctor. Alan guesses that this troubled woman must have left personal papers hidden somewhere in case she survived her suicide attempt. He searches the house and finds a small suitcase of letters, diaries, and her passport. He is appalled to learn that he knew her: she was, in fact, Janet Prentice, a former Wren and his late brother Bill's sweetheart. Together with another Wren, Viola Dawson, Alan has spent years searching for Janet after Bill's death. Janet had a "lovely war" in

Southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

, until tragic events around

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. In quick succession she lost Bill, then her father, and then her beloved dog. Her mother also died, shortly after the war. In addition, she believes herself responsible for the deaths of seven men, possibly allies, who were escaping in a German aeroplane which she had shot down. Reading through Janet's diaries, Alan learns that she came to Australia to find Bill's family, and that she still feels she must atone for the deaths of the seven men. He realizes that, after Bill's death, he and Janet, though never meeting, came to love each other, and ought to be the master and mistress of the family property; but now, the ghosts of Bill and Janet make it impossible for him to stay. But then he learns, as if from the ghosts, that he should "do the job for them"; and there is a woman in England, Viola, the other former Wren, who he should marry.

Notes and references

External links

* {{Nevil Shute 1955 British novels Novels by Nevil Shute Heinemann (publisher) books 1955 Australian novels Novels set in Victoria (state) Women's Royal Naval Service