Operation Heartbreak
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Publishing:5th Feb '26
£9.99
This title is due to be published on 5th February, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A moving reimagining of the man at the heart of Operation Mincemeat
‘It is a story of why men go to war, it is also a heart-wrenching love story’ Nina Bawden
William Maryngton has just one dream: to fight for his country, as his late father did. Devoted and honourable, he knows no fear – yet somehow, he always misses the battle; too young for the First World War, too old for the Second. Operation Heartbreak follows Willie’s life, through youthful idealism, love affairs and disappointed hopes, until, finally, he gets the chance to make a difference. Duff Cooper’s bittersweet novel, inspired by the real events of Operation Mincemeat, is a poignant tale of dreams of glory, and what it means to be true.
‘Supremely moving ... Its ending is as unexpected as it is affecting’ Wall Street Journal
Operation Heartbreak pulls off the trick of revealing the fascinating hidden workings of the British War Office within a supremely moving and well-wrought tale... Its ending is as unexpected as it is affecting * Wall Street Journal *
[A work of] jewel-like brevity and intensity * New York Herald Tribune *
A first novel of great distinction . . . a delightful tragi-comedy of military manners. It has been constructed by Duff Cooper with a truly dramatic economy and told with humour, deep feeling and considerable skill * Daily Telegraph *
It is the novel I enjoyed more than any other in the immediate post-war years, and one I have read many times since with undiminished pleasure and growing admiration for Duff Cooper's skill. It is a story of why men go to war, it is also a heart-wrenching love story; a wonderful novel by a masterly writer that should be on everyone's bookshelf -- Nina Bawden
As creditable, as surprising, as abundantly and elegantly good, as anything else Duff Cooper turned his mind and hand to -- Michael Hofmann
ISBN: 9780241799918
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 15mm
Weight: 200g
160 pages