Armistice

Description

Philomena Bligh's fianc Dan, has been shot. The First World War claimed many lives and so his death is not, in its own way, surprising. But Dan was shot in the minutes after the Armistice. The war was over. She cannot understand how this could have happened, or why they were still fighting that morning anyway. So, in March 1919, over Dan's birthday, Philomena travels to London to meet the men who were with him when he died. What she discovers is more shocking than she'd ever imagined. Dan's best friend, Jonathan, tells her that Dan was shot by a British officer over a gambling debt. There is no proof and all records of Jonathan's accusation have been destroyed. Refusing to accept anything less than justice for the man she loved, Philomena decides to take on the Establishment. Worried that she may cause his own downfall and feeling guilty for his mysterious part in Dan's death, Jonathan decides to accompany her on her mission. Set against a backdrop of London in the aftermath of the Great War, a time of upheaval, grief and wanton escapism, this is not just an inspirational book about what it means to be a hero, but also a breathtaking love story.

Nick Stafford was born in 1959 in Staffordshire. He has been a freelance creative writer for over 15 years, mainly writing for the theatre but his scripts have also been produced for radio and television. In 2007, his adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's War Horse became a sell-out show at the National Theatre, it returned a year later for another sell-out run and is now a major show in the West End. He lives in London.

'There's a raw, urgent power to Stafford's depiction of the grief and desperation of the postwar world' Guardian. * Guardian * 'Like War Horse, this is the story of a heroic quest... Stafford's fans won't be disappointed' Observer. * Observer *