To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfield

Towards the end of World War I, David Powlett-Jones is discharged after being in the hospital, injured and shell-shocked, for months. He is sent to Bamfylde, a private school in Devon, to teach history to boys who are less than ten years his junior. He has no experience as a teacher, and does not even have a degree, but the doctor felt that this would be the best remedy for the soul-sickness that David suffers from after spending three years in the trenches. And soon David comes to realize that Bamfylde was just what he needed.
The story of David Powlett-Jones and Bamfylde covers the time between the two World Wars, and follows David through the ups and downs of his life, as well as the ups and downs of Bamfylde, and England as a whole. Delderfield is a wonderful storyteller, and I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed God is an Englishman. The only difficulty I had with reading this book was that I am not British. So much of the politics of that time period that Delderfield includes, but chooses not to explain, went over my head. Obviously he is writing this for a British audience who would know that names he is speaking of. There are a few other things that come up like this, that as an American I had to work harder to understand. But that does not lessen the book's interest for me. It is just a comment on one of the difficulties of reading it. Apparently there is a BBC miniseries based on the book, which now I'll have to check out. Delderfield's stories, although they seem to be about simple subjects, are definitely engrossing, and a wonderful experience to read.

God Is an Englishman by RF Delderfield

I was not sure what to expect of this book, but when I received it and saw how large it was, I was certainly surprised. I was further surprised by how engrossing a book it actually was. Giving a plot outline really doesn't convey how good of a book this is, but I'll go ahead and try anyway.
God Is an Englishman tells the story of Adam Swann and his rise to prominence in London in the 1860's. His story begins when he makes the decision to end his career as a soldier and begin his life as a businessman, at the age of thirty-one. His chosen field of commerce is transportation, where he decides to fill the gap that the great trains of that era cannot. At the same time that he is establishing his business, he meets Henrietta, and from their first meeting he is captivated by her. Although she is much younger than him, she is a strong-willed woman, and circumstances conspire to create a situation in which he marries her after only knowing her for a few months. Thus begins the story of not only their life together, but the story of the newly formed Swann-on-Wheels transportation company.
The historical detail in this book is truly fascinating. Even when Delderfield is going through details that should be tedious - train schedules, shipping and transportation issues - he makes it interesting. Adam Swann is a fantastic character, one that you love to root for. And I loved following his marriage and family life, as he and Henrietta grow to know and truly love each other throughout the years. This is the first book in a trilogy, one I am going to have to follow through the rest of the series.