The Hornets’ Nest

Description

Bramble knows the sound of a Merlin engine before she knows her own name.

Found half-starved beneath a dispersal hut at RAF Waltham in 1943, she becomes a quiet source of comfort to the young men of Bomber Command. Before each operation, frightened aircrew crouch beside her, rest a hand against her fur and leave behind words they cannot say to anyone else.

Night after night, Bramble waits at the edge of the flarepath as Lancaster bombers disappear into the darkness over Europe. Some return damaged. Some return safely. Some leave behind only an empty hardstand and the silence of those who must keep flying.

Through Berlin, Nuremberg, D-Day, Dresden, Operation Manna and the final days of the war, Bramble remains constant—a small, loyal presence in a world defined by uncertainty and loss.

The Hornets’ Nest is a moving historical novel about loyalty, remembrance, courage and one dog’s extraordinary vigil beside the men of RAF Bomber Command.