Under an English Heaven

By Donald E. Westlake

1972

First Published

3.72

Average Rating

278

Number of Pages

8H29M

Audio Length

Westlake describes the British invasion of the Caribbean island of Anguilla on March 19, 1969 — an engagement dubbed by Time as "Britain's Bay of Piglets." What was this tiny querulous democracy—black and white petit bourgeois all—after? This was a puzzlement to almost everyone, particularly since the first ""rebel flag"" hoisted was the Union Jack. Mainly it boiled down to an abhorrence of the paternal dictatorship of Colonel Bradshaw on the neighboring island of St. Kitts (nee St. Christopher) which the British, in their haste to slough off Caribbean millstones, had thrown into an "Associated State" with Nevis and the hapless Anguilla. It seemed to the Anguillans that a negligent but comfortably distant Mother had withdrawn in favor of a Papa Doc. Westlake traces the 50 months of muddled negotiations, farcical happenings and errant nonsense, including press rumors of Mafia infiltration, bungled insurgent efforts, and visitations by an odd grab bag of Americans. As for the Anguillans themselves, their preparedness is summed up by the two-man police force with a cranky Volks—one at the wheel, one pushing. Then came the Invasion and Westlake appropriately prefaces the epic with lines from "Jabberwocky." Of course, the Anguillans won and after 300 years of neglect are more or less back in the nest with new roads and buildings from England. Westlake has carefully documented to keep face (and prose) straight; it's a rare show not to be missed. (Kirkus)

Avg Rating

3.72

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

27%

4 STARS

30%

3 STARS

36%

2 STARS

1 STARS

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Author

Donald E. Westlake

Author · 73 books

Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950's, churning out novels for pulp houses—often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms such as Richard Stark—but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and Parker, a ruthless criminal. His writing earned him three Edgar Awards: the 1968 Best Novel award for God Save the Mark; the 1990 Best Short Story award for "Too Many Crooks"; and the 1991 Best Motion Picture Screenplay award for The Grifters. In addition, Westlake also earned a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993. Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic. Some of the pseudonyms he used include • Richard Stark • Timothy J. Culver • Tucker Coe • Curt Clark • J. Morgan Cunningham • Judson Jack Carmichael • D.E. Westlake • Donald I. Vestlejk • Don Westlake