About the Book
Trapped in a cupboard with a nubile blonde nymphomaniac; crossing the Waal under a hail of fire with the US paratroops of 82nd airborne; rattling in a jeep through the Dutch countryside with the men of 1st Airborne Recce Squadron; trying to take out a self-propelled gun with a ruddy useless PIAT. It's all in a day's work for Lt Dick Coward and Sgt Tom Price on their second published adventure.
After the horrors of D-Day, they find themselves plunged into even greater chaos and mayhem as they land in the deceptively tranquil countryside around Arnhem, Holland, as part of Operation Market Garden. What should be a pushover - the ingenious scheme that everyone thinks will end the war by Christmas - turns into Britain's biggest military disaster of the Second World War. But if it's a cock-up, by golly is it a glorious one. Rarely if ever have Allied soldiers acquitted themselves better than the British, Americans and Poles, as they fought against the might of the SS, in their bid to capture 'The Bridge Too Far."
As usual Coward and Price are in the thick of it. They have to be. If Coward doesn't get a VC this time, he'll be booted off the family estate for good, and stand no chance of winning the heart of the fickle, dangerously beguiling Gina.
Will he get the medal? Will he get the girl? Will Price be driven so mad by his master's Bertie Wooster-like stupidity that he ends up throttling him first?
About the Author :
James Delingpole is a journalist, broadcaster and author of six books including How To Be Right, Thinly Disguised Autobiography, and the Dick Coward series. He writes for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Mail On Sunday, the Sunday Times, The Times, the Independent On Sunday on everything from rock to culture to politics and gardening. He is married with children and lives in South London.
Review :
[Praise for COWARD ON THE BEACH:] James Urquhart, Financial Times Magazine Tempered by the carnage of war, Dick's antics have more meat and less sauce than those of his antecedent Flashman, whose racy adventures Delingpole creditably updates Spectator vigorous, witty and elegant... a welcome corrective to the Spielberg-Hanks version and promises a lot more excitement to come. Jolly good show, Delingpole Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail Impressive and enjoyable... A very entertaining journey ... a rattling story, full of action and laughs and gut-wrenching fear ... Roll on Vol.2 Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday A literary equivalent of Saving Private Ryan ... a fine ear for dialogue GQ 'Very funny, and always delightfully non-PC' Gwynne Jones, Literary Review 'Coward's amusing episodes of derring-do and the tragic waste of life on both sides ... it seems there's a deeper layer to Coward than mere cheek, spunk and bluster' Dan Daily Echo 'Gripping yarn for men who don't want to go to sleep' 'If you miss Flashman, then fill the hole in your life with Delingpole. James Delingpole's Coward on the Beach was a novel about the D-Day invasion of Normandy, starring his war hero Dick Coward. With echoes of George MacDonald Fraser's fictional Flashman, it was an action-packed story full of wry humour and vivid detail. Coward at the Bridge is another joyful addition to what promises to be a 10-book series. Coward is in the thick of the action, once more hoping to save a bridge too far. Will he achieve military glory or come a cropper? Not since Anthony Burgess's Earthly Powers has a novel had such a seductive opening line: "Did I ever tell you about the time I found myself locked in a cupboard with a stunning 17-year-old nymphomaniac who couldn't keep her hands off me?" How can anyone fail to read on?' Tatler Magazine, June issue 'Good writers have always borrowed from other good writers, and only a pedant would accuse James Delingpole of copying from the late George MacDonald Fraser...It is a cracking story from the off, with our hero locked in a cupboard with a nymphomaniac Dutch blonde...It is a shamelessly frivolous take on history, but the author's zest and inventiveness carry the day' Mail on Sunday 21/6 'War is an awfully big adventure, best appreciated vicariously, at a great distance in space and time. James Delingpole's splendidly entertaining second novel of the saga of Lt Dick Coward's Flashmanesque ubiquity in the second world war is just the ticket...Delingpole rightly calls the airborne-led attack on the bridge too far at Arnhem 'one of the greatest disasters in British military history.' It is fortunate that we do military disasters so well, admiring the major ones as fervently as victories. With appropriate passion, disillusionment and the wit of men at the lower levels of the military hierarchy, he describes all the blood and guts, the noise and the people. Coward, in competition with his arrogant brother for inheritance of the family estate, crosses the River Waal in a small boat, in daylight, under fire, even more courageously than Robert Redford...Coward at the Bridge is 'war-buff heaven'. He deserves an honorary VC' The Spectator 27/6 'Told in a similar tongue-in-cheek style to The Flashman Papers, Delingpole had me laughing out loud at the incredible exploits of Coward and his sidekick Sgt Price -- a wartime double act worthy of comparison with Jeeves and Wooster. These are the tales you wish your grandfather had told you. Delingpole is a master storyteller who commands your full attention to the final page' Soldier Magazine October issue 'Anyone who is still childish enough to like Commando Comics and enjoys Flashman will love this, perfect for long afternoons in the Junior Common Room.' Sam Kiley, Books of the Year, Evening Standard 26/11 'Hearty adolescent war porn leavened with humour and flawless historical detail -- for the Flashman fans' The Lady 8/12 'James writes jolly exciting books set in the Second World War, the latest of which is Coward at the Bridge. You can also occasionally catch him venting his spleen on Question Time' Contributors notes, Country & Town House Magazine Dec issue The second of Delingpole's hugely enjoyable wartime romps finds Dick Coward parachuted into Arnhem in September 1944. Given that the charges levelled against Dick during his previous misadventures include treachery, adultery, mutiny, desertion and cowardice, it's a surprise he's allowed anywhere near the front line again but, as usual with him, a little corruption and nepotism goes a long way. His amorality and self-absorption inevitably make one think of Flashman' Mail on Sunday 25/4
