The English Air by D.E. Stevenson might just be my new favourite DES book. It might even surpass the Mrs Tim books in my affections. No, that’s ridiculous, I love Mrs Tim too dearly see her supplanted even by this book. But The English Air is excellent and is even better than Sarah Morris Remembers, another of my favourite DES books and one which, with its WWII-era setting and Germanic hero, shares many similarities with The English Air.
Franz von Heiden arrives in England in the summer of 1938 to stay with his English cousins. The product of a “mixed” marriage, Franz’s English mother died when he was a small boy and he was raised by his strict German father, now a prominent member of the Nazi party. A reserved young man in his early twenties, Franz has come to England to improve his English (he is a talented linguist) and learn about the English character and culture. He is not precisely a spy but there is the expectation that whatever he learns will be useful to the Reich in judging the mood and examining the weaknesses of the English people.
Fritz’s early confusion about English culture was delightful. The English sense of humour is beyond him and the casual use of understatement makes it difficult for him to judge what is meant seriously and what is meant in jest:
Franz sighed. It was so difficult. What were these people really like inside? They made fun of everything, they insulted each other…and laughed; they reviled their superior officers and criticised their government and its administration. To Franz they were like people from another planet and the more he saw of them the more incompetent he was to understand them.
His English cousins and their friends seem so young and foolish. It takes a while for Franz to see and respect their strength and loyalty, traits hidden beneath their carefree exteriors. In the Germany where Franz has grown up, no one is carefree. His attempts to tell his new friends about life in Germany, about the Wandervögel, for instance, only make him see more clearly the things that bother him about his homeland, things he has been too afraid to admit even to himself:
These feelings of doubt and vague discontent were far below the surface, and indeed, if the truth were told, Franz had never before acknowledged them to himself. It was only now, when he looked back and saw it all in perspective, that he knew his own mind. He realised, as he spoke, and described the Wandervögel outings in glowing terms, that Roy and Harry were made of different stuff – he had been faintly disgusted, but they would be horrified; he had been a trifle bored, but they would be bored to death.
Far from home, Franz initially feels defensive of his country but, when he finds people willing to believe his exaggerate descriptions of the wonders of the Reich, his own loyalty starts to falter. He falls in love with his cousin Wynne and, having agreed with her uncle not to tell her immediately of his feelings, finds a job and sets to work in London. The tensions between his homeland and the country he has come to love trouble him; no one, with the possible exception of Mr Chamberlain, is more ecstatic over the outcome of the Munich Crisis – or more devastated when he realises that Germany has no intention of abiding by the terms of the agreement.
When Germany does violate the Munich agreement, Franz (now anglicised to Frank) is horrified. He rushes back to Germany, intent on getting his beloved great-aunt Anna and party-member father out of the country. Things do not go according to plan but, for once!, D.E. Stevenson surprised me with an ending that felt well-paced rather than abrupt.
One of the most charming aspects of the book was Franz’s relationship with his delightful cousin Sophie, Wynne’s mother. Years before, Sophie and Franz’s mother had grown up together and been best friends. When Franz’s parents were married, his mother moved to Germany, the First World War began and the two women lost contact. By the time the war had ended and communication was possible again, Franz’s mother had died. Sophie and Franz are immediately sympathetic to one another because of this bond; Sophie provides Franz with a link to his long-dead mother and he provides Sophie with a connection to the best friend lost to her by marriage and a world war. By virtue of her age and the times she has lived through, Sophie is more serious than her children and, at first, a more natural companion for the sober-minded Franz. Their early conversations as Frank stumbles to make out the English character are wonderful, particularly when they descend into the kind of domestic details that D.E. Stevenson did so well. I especially loved this conversation about Sophie’s reading material; you can practically see D.E.S. winking her eye at her readers:
“What have you been doing all day, Cousin Sophie?”
“I was very lazy. I got a new book from the library and I’ve been reading all afternoon.”
“It is very interesting?” Frank inquired.
“Yes…no,” said Sophie in a doubtful tone. “I mean you wouldn’t like it, dear. It isn’t very good, I’m afraid, but it’s the sort of book I like. It’s about nice people and it ends properly – she marries the right man and they live happily ever after.”
“Have you looked at the end?”
“Of course not, but Elaine Elkington’s books are all like that. You can trust her to end it all happily – such a comfort! Some of the books nowadays begin quite nicely and cheerfully and then, half way through, they go all wrong and make you miserable. You’ve begun to like the people by that time, so it isn’t fair.”
Published in 1940, it is refreshing to see how fair and positive a portrait D.E.S. paints of her German protagonist. There is no question that Franz (or Frank) is the main character. Wynne is nice and good but as bland as most of D.E.S.’s heroines and firmly in the background for most of the story. Instead, we see everything through Franz’s eyes; it is his outsider perspective and the moral challenges he faces when his allegiances begin to shift that makes this book so engaging and enjoyable. Franz’s struggles – both humourous and serious – make him a far more intelligent and compelling focus than I am used to in D.E. Stevenson’s novels. She can write a good gentle, mindless romance (and goodness knows she wrote enough of those) but when she adds some intelligence the books reach a whole new, wonderful level.
The Captive Reader 
oh dear this sounds marvelous. I have never read the Mrs Tim books – though have read three Miss Buncle books and a lovely novel called Ceilia’s house. I also have two other D E Stevenson books TBR and you have really whetted my appetite for them.
DES can be a little uneven – when she is good, as here, she is very good; when she is bad, she is awful – but I’m having fun working through her novels, both good and bad. I hope you enjoy the two DES books in your TBR pile!
A new favourite D E Stevenson novel is definitely cause for celebration, and my library has this one in reserve stock. I’m so pleased, because if subject matter like this had been mishandled if would have been particularly painful.
I’m so excited to hear your library has a copy of this, Jane!
I read my first D.E. Stevenson last week, Miss Buncle’s Book. I liked it very much but this one sounds even better. But sadly I’ve just checked and my county library catalogue doesn’t have it and the cheapest Amazon copy is £20, so sadly this one will have to be a ‘keep an eye for in a charity shop’ book.
This one is even better! It can be difficult to find – I was lucky that I was able to get a copy through inter-library loan – so I wish you luck in your search for it.
Thanks for this. I do love DES. I think Celia’s House may be my most favorite but there are still a lot I haven’t read. My library has a great collection and I keep thinking I should just have a little DES marathon.
Lucky you, to have a library with a good DES collection!
I have been reading all her books since 1984 or so. I have read them multiple times. My adult daughter and I read them aloud when we are together. My first favorite was The English Air, and it was the first one that I looked for to buy for my own library. I worried that I might not be able to find them someday, and it was a valid concern, as my library has few left nowadays. But they are gradually making their way back into print. I am so glad that people are discovering her anew. I loved reading this book where I was given the perspective of a young German just before the war. I thought she did an excellent job and I really appreciated being given this insight of seeing through his eyes.
I introduced my daughter-in-law to DES and she loved the books and has read most of them and began to collect some of them for herself. I have a new younger daughter-in-law and introduced her to them. She also has enjoyed them and passed them along to her mother, who has liked them too. I think we all long for a gentler read for the times when life is stressful and we need an escape. But, as you said, this is one of DES’s books that contains much more.
How wonderful that you’ve been able to share these books with your family, Julie. And I agree that it is nice to see so many of DES’s books being reprinted these days; hopefully we’ll see a new edition of The English Air before too long.
Possibly some of you might be able to get hold of the book through Interlibrary Loan? That is the way I read most of DES’s books before I bought my own copies.
That would be my advice too! It’s the only way I’ve been able to read most of her books.
Hmmm: any suggestions on where I should start w Stevenson? I want to read more midcentury authors, but I’m rather overwhelmed with my options!
If you want to chuckle – try “Miss Buncle’s Book’ – it’s also easier to get hold of, since it’s been republished.
As Julie notes, Miss Buncle’s Book is easy to track down (it’s in print in both the US and UK now) and you can also get (or soon will be able to get) the two sequels (Miss Buncle Married and The Two Mrs Abbotts). Personally, I’m not a Miss Buncle fan. I’d start with Mrs Tim of the Regiment, which was reprinted by Bloomsbury a few years ago. It’s based on Stevenson’s own diaries as a military wife and has a Provincial Lady-esque tone that is absent from her other novels.
I have not yet read D.E. but find I do have one on my shelf, Young Mrs. Savage. It’s been lingering there for years unread. Time to dust it off and fall in love. My library does quite a few but not The English Air. will try inter-library loan. Thanks!
Do try ILL, Peggy! That’s how I’ve gotten hold of almost all the DES books I’ve read.
Your excerpt of the conversation between Frank and Sophie is terrific. It often does seem unfair when characters you like end their stories in misery. I’ve never read D.E. Stevenson. My county library system has Mrs. Tim of the Regiment and three others by her (The Marriage of Katherine, Still Glides the Stream and Mrs. Tim Flies Home).
Regarding the use of ILL: I just requested an interlibrary loan for an Elizabeth Bowen book on Saturday, but the librarian warned me there might be a fee. The librarian told me that sometimes the ILL fee can be $10, in which case I said not to bother if it was that much. I might as well try to buy the book used online at that price. It’s so sad – the last state I lived in had a much more robust interlibrary loan system. I could get an ILL book for free from any public library in the state. This request on Saturday was my first time trying to ILL in this state. We’ll see how it goes and how it bodes for getting my hands on some of these harder-to-find books.
Ours has a fee for certain situations too, but we can check the box, when we request a book, ‘free search only’. That way if there is an extra fee, they know I don’t want it. The Mrs. Tim books are all in diary style, so whether you would like them or not would depend upon whether you like that style of writing. ‘Still Glides the Stream’ is not one of my favorites. ‘The Marriage of Katherine’ is a sequel, so you would hope to be able to get hold of ‘Katherine Wentworth’ – the first book, before you read the second. I hope you can find some through ILL that don’t have the fees!
The librarian filled out the form (I’m not sure if it’s b/c it was my first time or because they always fill out the form). They don’t have their ILL request available online. But she did ask how much, if any, I would be willing to pay, and I think I said $5 max this time, but in the future I may do only if it’s for free. I think the lending library is supposed to contact me before they send it as well. Thanks for the run-down of the other D.E. Stevenson books. I saw Claire’s comment above that the Mrs. Tim books are kind of like the Provincial Lady, which I did enjoy, so I feel good in picking that one as my first Stevenson.
[…] and Miss Buncle Married) being reprinted while the better novels languish forgotten? Why not The English Air? Why not Sarah Morris Remembers? Why not Amberwell, or The Blue Sapphire, or Listening […]
Just read The English Air myself, and you’re very right, Claire, it’s well up there on the DES favourites list with me, as well. Great review; mine was very minimalistic in comparison! 😉
[…] Claire wrote ‘The English Air by D.E. Stevenson might just be my new favourite DES book’ a […]
[…] seen the very exciting news that Greyladies, one of my favourite small publishers, has reprinted The English Air by D.E. Stevenson. This is both very wonderful and very sneaky, since there was little warning ahead of time that […]
Is there a sequel to The English Air?
I don’t think any books are sequel to it. The English Air was the first DES title that I searched for ,used, to own for myself -back before the Internet, when it was much more difficult to find out-of-print books.
[…] The English Air (one of my top ten books of 2013) […]