Most people are familiar with only a few of Nevil Shute's many books, such as "A Town Like Alice", of course, and "On The Beach", both of which were made into highly successful films, and yet even "On The Beach" is now almost forgotten and most people instead think of Leonardo DiCaprio and "The Beach".
I have all of Nevil Shute's twenty-four novels in my library, and read them all, some even more than once, but it's always exciting to find out more about this English writer who spent his later years in Australia.
I have just now found the 1990 film adaptation "Crossing To Freedom" of his 1942 book "Pied Piper", a story about a very proper Englishman, portrait by Peter O'Toole, who holidays in France as the Nazis invade and he is forced to try to escape back to England with the two small children of some friends. The roads become impassable and he comes across five more children who need his help. He ends up leading this motley group of youngsters through the French countryside constantly beset by danger yet heroically protecting his charges.
I really enjoyed watching this movie and thought you might, too.
