Fit for Heroes

This novel follows the struggles of a working-class family from the North East of England during the ‘roaring twenties’ which was shattered by strikes, the Great Depression, the banking collapse and the misery of unemployment. Then came war …
Ben Hawthorne is seeking a socialist utopia but struggles with the demon drink. An atheist trying to improve his life, he becomes close friends with a clergyman and together they soar intellectually.
With the onset of war, Ben starts working for an engineering firm producing munitions. His horror grows as what Germany is doing to Britain and what Britain is doing in return.
As a socialist, Ben thinks internationally, empathising with those on the continent suffering from indiscriminate British blanket bombing, he faces a crisis of conscience that threatens to turn his life upside down.