Post of Honour

The second book in R. F. Delderfield's acclaimed A Horseman Riding By saga of twentieth-century England is a memorable slice of rural life, as one war gives way to the gathering storm clouds of the next Through hard work and love of the land, Boer War vet Paul Craddock has transformed the sprawling West Country estate of Shallowford. With his wife and three children he enjoys a peaceful country life. But war has begun its inevitable march across England, and this remote corner of Devon cannot escape its cruel destruction. Young farmers of the village-barely men when they enlist-are dying in the field or coming home to a way of life that is rapidly disappearing. Yet as the Great War ends and another threatens to erupt, Craddock's faith and the strength he derives from his family will sustain him and his beloved village through trying, tumultuous times. Filled with vivid imagery and timeless emotion, this is the unforgettable story of a farming family and a vanishing way of life. Post of Honour is the second novel in R. F. Delderfield's A Horseman Riding By saga, which begins with Long Summer Day and continues with The Green Gauntlet. "Sheer, wonderful storytelling." -Chicago Tribune "It is always a pleasure to read R. F. Delderfield." -Books and Bookmen "[Delderfield] built an imposing artistic social history that promises to join those of his great forebears in the long, noble line of the English novel. His narratives belong in a tradition that goes back to John Galsworthy and Arnold Bennett." -Life "A born storyteller." -Sunday Mirror R. F. Delderfield (1912-1972) was born in South London. On leaving school he joined the Exmouth Chronicle newspaper as a junior reporter and went on to become editor. He began to write stage plays and then became a highly successful novelist, renowned for brilliantly portraying slices of English life. With the publication of his first saga, A Horseman Riding By, he became one of Britain's most popular authors, and his novels have been bestsellers ever since. Many of his works, including the Horseman Riding By series, To Serve Them All My Days, the Avenue novels, and Diana, were adapted for television.