Piece of Cake

From the Phoney War of 1939 to the Battle of Britain in 1940, the pilots of Hornet Squadron learn their lessons the hard way. Hi-jinks are all very well on the ground, but once in a Hurricane's cockpit, the best killers keep their wits close.

Newly promoted Commanding Officer Fanny Barton has a job on to whip the Hornets into shape before they face the Luftwaffe's seasoned pilots. And sometimes Fighter Command, with its obsolete tactics and stiff doctrines, is the real menace.

As with all Robinson's novels, the raw dialogue, rich black humour and brilliantly rendered, adrenalin-packed dogfights bring the Battle of Britain, and the brave few who fought it, to life.

“'An outstanding novelist's brilliantly researched portrait of the war in the air and the men who fought it' Max Hastings.”

Max Hastings
'The dialogue is convincing, the story is emotionally moving and it contains some of the best descriptions of battle I've read' Time Out. Time Out
'Robinson is probably the best novelist ever to write about fighter combat: surprising, hyper-realistic and very, very dark' Spectator. Spectator

Derek Robinson, the son of a policeman, read history at Cambridge before working in advertising in London and New York. His novel Goshawk Squadron was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1971.

1940. Before the war, the R.A.F. was known as the best flying club in the world, with a touch of the playboy about some fighter pilots. That soon changed. Piece of Cake follows the vapour trails of Hornet Squadron as it takes a beating in the Battle for France and regroups for the Battle of Britain, which is no piece of cake either. The Luftwaffe is big in numbers and confidence, and patriotism alone cannot save a man in a spinning, burning Hurricane. Legend paints the image of 'The Few' as invariably gallant, brilliant and tireless. Piece of Cake tells a more honest and human story, of men who knew triumphs and disasters, who took little seriously except flying, and to whom humour came as naturally as breathing. A popular and enduring classic, it won both acclaim and criticism when it first appeared for its brutally frank portrayal of life within the R.A.F. at war.

From the Phoney War of 1939 to the Battle of Britain in 1940, the pilots of Hornet Squadron learn their lessons the hard way. Hi-jinks are all very well on the ground, but once in a Hurricane's cockpit, the best killers keep their wits close. Newly promoted Commanding Officer Fanny Barton has a job on to whip the Hornets into shape before they face the Luftwaffe's seasoned pilots. And sometimes Fighter Command, with its obsolete tactics and stiff doctrines, is the real menace. As with all Robinson's novels, the raw dialogue, rich black humour and brilliantly rendered, adrenalin-packed dogfights bring the Battle of Britain, and the brave few who fought it, to life.

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