Human Voices
 Cover to first edition hardback | |
| Author | Penelope Fitzgerald |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1979 (Collins) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Human Voices is a novel by British author Penelope Fitzgerald. It is set in World War II London during 1940, from the Fall of France to the Battle of Britain.
Background
Fitzgerald worked for the wartime Ministry of Food from June to November 1940. She then worked for the BBC until war's end.[1]
Major characters
- Seymour "Sam" Brooks, RPD
- A brilliant technician, mid-40s, he is noted for having increased BBC's sound clarity. He surrounds himself with young female assistants, whom he uses for sharing his worries, but otherwise ignores. His main interest is the development of a portable windshield for microphones.
- Jeff Haggard, DDP
- Modest about himself, he is forceful in his job. He breaks rules to help other people and the BBC. He keeps Brooks focused.
- Lise Bernard, an RPA
- In love with (and pregnant by) Frédé, a free French soldier who has moved on.
- Violet Simmons, an RPA
- Lise and Annie at times board with her family.
- Annie Asra, an RPA
- Only seventeen, the orphaned daughter of a piano tuner. She falls in love with Brooks, not that he notices. Her name is from the Heinrich Heine poem "Der Asra", about a tribe of slaves that die when they fall in love.[2][3]
- John "Mac" McVitie
- American broadcaster, employee of NBS, friendly with Haggard.
- John "the Halibut" Haliburton
- Senior Broadcaster, with a distinctive hoarse voice, believed impossible for the Germans to ever counterfeit.
- General Georges Pinard
- French general, Anglophile due to horse racing, defeatist after his escape to London.
Acronyms
- BBC
- British Broadcasting Corporation
- BH
- Broadcasting House
- DG
- Director General
- DDG
- Deputy Director General
- ADDG
- Acting Deputy Director General
- RPD
- Recorded Programmes Director
- RPA
- Recorded Programmes Assistant
- JTA
- Junior Temporary Assistant
- JPE
- Junior Programme Engineer
- DPP
- Director of Programme Planning
- AD(E)
- Assistant Director (Establishment)
- NBS
- National Broadcasting System (fictional American broadcaster)
- CBC
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- FL
- France Libre (Free French)
Reception
Fitzgerald, drawing on her own youthful employment at the BBC, brings time, place, and characters to life in a book remarkable for its dexterous and appealing prose.
Critical review
The novel has a chapter of its own in Peter Wolfe Understanding Penelope Fitzgerald[5] and Hermione Lee Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life[6]
References
- ↑ Lee 2014, pp. 68–9,88.
- ↑ Wolfe 2004, p. 147.
- ↑ 'My last head teacher told me it was the name of a tribe,' said Annie. (Chapter 7)
- ↑ Smith, Starr E. (1999-05-01). "Human Voices". Library Journal. 104 (7): 850.
- ↑ Wolfe 2004, pp. 137–59.
- ↑ Lee 2014, pp. 70–78.
Further reading
- Lee, Hermione (2014). "Love and War". Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life. Alfred A. Knopf.
- Wolfe, Peter (2004). "Keepers of the Discs". Understanding Penelope Fitzgerald. University of South Carolina Press.
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