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French Letters: Engaged in War

by Jack Woodville London (Goodreads Author)

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 16 ratings · 6 reviews

French Letters; Engaged in War, is the second book in the French Letters Trilogy. The companion to Virginia's War, it is the story of Will Hastings, an army doctor caught up in the D-Day landings in Normandy and the drive to capture St. Lo, France. Isolated from Virginia Sullivan and the events taking place at home, Will faces the demands of combat surgery under fire and t...more

Paperback, 328 pages

Published September 14th 2010 by Vire Press (first published August 29th 2010)

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Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell

Her Highness, the Traitor by Susan Higginbotham

Historical Novel Society 2013

36th out of 39 books — 39 voters

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Aug 25, 2012 Joan Adamak rated it 5 of 5 stars

Powerful Saga of WWII

As a teenager dating WWII vets returning home, I heard all sorts of snippets of the snafus that occurred during the war and Book Two covers the trials and adjustments made by the medical teams on the push by the Americans into France on D-day and thereafter. It is the story of Will Hastings, whose college education of two years and medical training of two years were mysteriously paid for and then he was drafted. His rank was Captain, although he lacked much medical training,...more Powerful Saga of WWII

As a teenager dating WWII vets returning home, I heard all sorts of snippets of the snafus that occurred during the war and Book Two covers the trials and adjustments made by the medical teams on the push by the Americans into France on D-day and thereafter. It is the story of Will Hastings, whose college education of two years and medical training of two years were mysteriously paid for and then he was drafted. His rank was Captain, although he lacked much medical training, including surgery, stitching up wounds, etc. In England before D-day, Major Halliburton, a doctor and his boss, was injured in an air-raid. Will, being the only one available, had to sew him up but due to his lack of expertise, the scars on the Major’s face were horrific, for which Halliburton never forgave him. When his LST holding the medical groups landed, Halliburton sent Will and his medic Antsley out onto the beach, with loose orders, which would probably lead to their death with the thousands of others who died that day and many more the next day when they had to push through the hedgerows.

The story encompassed Will receiving his necessary medical knowledge and skills from other doctors while working with them under fire. Will seemed fearless and charged into areas where others died and yet he managed to survive. Since he had no dependents, he offered to substitute where needed and seemed able to go without sleep. On the side, he constantly searched for a wrecked glider, which a month before his brother Peter was reputed to have died in. Will convince himself he still had to be alive.

Virginia didn’t play much of a role in this story. There were many twists, turns and surprises. As with the first book, the reader lives the story and is rewarded with deep insight into the lives of the medical personnel during WWII, about which there is little written. At the end of the story, the author revealed his sources of information from active military medical personnel during that time, plus French people who lived under German occupation and the push in the Normandy area. He also wrote about actual events that occurred on Omaha Beach.

I view this book like “Gone With the Wind.” It is so realistic and educational. I wonder what the author has left to include in Book 3. I loved every minute of reading this story and highly recommend it, even as a history lesson for our children.
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Sep 14, 2010 Bookventures Book Club rated it 1 of 5 stars

French Letters: Engaged in War is the second book in the French Letters trilogy by Jack Woodville London. From what i gather about Engaged in War, the books are based on World War 2 and they chronicle the relationship between Captain Will Hastings; a medic serving in the war and Virginia, his love back in Texas. The story has a very unique plot, quite a few interesting characters and its written in a prose that is witty and intelligent but sadly i didn't quite enjoy this story.

While i try to rea...more French Letters: Engaged in War is the second book in the French Letters trilogy by Jack Woodville London. From what i gather about Engaged in War, the books are based on World War 2 and they chronicle the relationship between Captain Will Hastings; a medic serving in the war and Virginia, his love back in Texas. The story has a very unique plot, quite a few interesting characters and its written in a prose that is witty and intelligent but sadly i didn't quite enjoy this story.

While i try to read all genres on this blog, i think that books based on war or the military are really not for me. Honestly the author did a good job making the story very authentic as it was chocked fill with military jargons but most if not all of these either flew over my head or left me feeling kind of bored.

Also the prologue was completely different than what the story turns out to be and that was a major disappointment for me. I got really excited and even imagine what the outcome of Engaged in War would be but it just seems to me as though the prologue was totally unrelated to the story or rather it was the prologue to another story and not Engaged in War. I kind of questioned why it was included in the book in the first place.

There are also a lot of characters at play and several stories that develop within the main plot. All of which are connected somehow or rather somewhere in the book. At times you begin to feel as though the author is jumping from story to story and that's probably because of how the book is written or laid out. However the connections are there and the readers have to be quite vigilant about them.

Additionally the story was slow to develop. It took me approximately 85 pages to understand what the story was all about and even then, it wasn't as clear cut as i had hoped it would be. Reading it reminded me of my experience reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. That story developed really slowly but it grew into an amazing story in the end. I kept waiting for the amazing story to come through in Engaged in War but after a few chapters and with the same result, i had to retire this read.

I think that most of the problems that i had with this book was as a result of starting midway in the trilogy. I have not read book one Virginia's War yet and i'm pretty sure that there are a lot of explanations there that would have helped me understand Engaged in War better. Also it seemed as though i had to have a lot of patience to read this book. However having just come out of a lapse in my reading routine, patience was the last thing that i had.

Just because i didn't like this book, doesn't mean it wasn't any good. In fact while doing my research, i came across a few reviews on Amazon.com for Engaged in War and also for Virginia's War. Take a look at them and then you be the judge about adding this one to your reading pile.(less)

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Nov 15, 2010 Kathleen Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished

French Letters: Engaged in War has to be the first WWII book I have read in a long time and was apprehensive when I requested this book from Phenix & Phenix. This second novel in the trilogy by Jack Woodville London pretty much takes place in the French countryside during the attempted takeover of St. Lo. The main character is Will Hastings, a combat surgeon, who is not attached to any unit but is treating wounded men . His brother is missing, presumed dead and Will is trying to find out wha...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it 4 of 5 stars

‘It was the risk of failure that scared him.’

This is the second instalment in the ‘French Letters’ trilogy, and is written from the perspective of Will Hastings, a young army doctor on the battlefields of France in World War II. Will Hastings arrives in France during the D Day landings and finds himself torn between saving lives – military and civilian - and trying to find out about the death of his brother. As a doctor, he is committed to saving lives wherever possible. As a doctor in a war he...more

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Dec 04, 2010 Mishel Zabala rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

My Rating: 3/5 stars

I've never really been a "war-time" reader and I'm pretty positive this is my first war-related novel. In school I sort of avoided all History classes if I could get away with it. I'm not too sure why I did that now that I think about it. Set in WWII, Engaged In War is the second in a trilogy and focuses on Will Hastings, a young army doctor. I usually don't like to step out of order when it comes to books, however the blurb caught my attention and I ended up accepting the re...more My Rating: 3/5 stars

I've never really been a "war-time" reader and I'm pretty positive this is my first war-related novel. In school I sort of avoided all History classes if I could get away with it. I'm not too sure why I did that now that I think about it. Set in WWII, Engaged In War is the second in a trilogy and focuses on Will Hastings, a young army doctor. I usually don't like to step out of order when it comes to books, however the blurb caught my attention and I ended up accepting the request for review. The French Letter Trilogy, from what I gather, take place in the same time period but are told from a different character's perspective. So I don't think it bothers me that much that I went out of order.

It took me quite a while to become comfortable with the style of writing. I had a tough time figuring out who was the main character in the beginning and then I had an equally tough time keeping the secondary characters straight. I felt there was a lack of character depth in the secondary characters which caused me to get confused on who was who. But I suppose that's understandable because the focus of the story was on the effect this war had on the decisions people had to make in order to survive and live with themselves. War is hard on everyone, those personally involved and those "sitting on the sidelines". Will makes tough decisions everyday when treating soldiers and their specific wounds. But Will must also question his morals when faced with a court martial after being severely wounded.

I found that I liked the unique personality of Will although I couldn't quite grasp him entirely. After arriving on the beach in Normandy during the D-Day landings, Will's story really takes off. He's focused on finding out what really happened to his brother who is presumed dead from a glider crash. And yet despite that strong pull towards his brother's fate, Will still has this passion and drive to do his duty as an army doctor. His will, determination, and stamina make him a very likable character. His lack of contact with his girlfriend, Virginia Sullivan, back in his hometwon of Tierra, Texas causes a strain on Will's conncetion with his "normal" or former life. This leads to an easier attraction to a local farmgirl, Geraldine. His relationship with her symbolizes the connection between two people that crosses language and culture barriers since Will is and English speaking American and Geraldine is French and speaks very, very little English. Despite this, they are able to come together in a desperate time to fill a void that the War has caused them both.

It seems to me that this novel was very well researched because I actually caught something about WWII and the D-Day landings on my local public broadcasting station while reading it. The show on TV even went into some detail about some of the French countryside as well that was also a big part of the novel. Because like I mentioned earlier, I skipped as much History in school as I could so I'm pretty clueless about most of the wars that have happened in the past. But I'm fairly confident in saying that the author did a very good job in his research.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel. It did take me longer than I expected to finish it but don't let that deter you from giving it a try. I'm definitely interested in reading the first novel, Virginia's War, because it goes into detail about what happens with Virginia and things "back home". I'm also interested in seeing what book three will be about.
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Oct 15, 2011 Joyce Faulkner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: military-writers-society-of-america, world-war-ii

Jack Woodville London - MWSA 2011 Author of the Year

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May 23, 2013 Micki Levin marked it as to-read

Shelves: historical-fiction

Feb 17, 2013 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: great-historical-fiction

Feb 10, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Aug 01, 2012 Jack London rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

May 17, 2012 Warren Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mar 28, 2012 Lynn Hallbrooks marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Apr 07, 2010 The Authors' Assistant rated it 5 of 5 stars

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About Jack Woodville London

Jack Woodville London is a former US Army captain, a respected trial-attorney, a noted World War II historian, and an internationally-acclaimed author. A graduate of West Texas A&M and the University of Texas Law School, Jack’s foundation in writing began when he was elected managing editor of the University of Texas International Law Journal in 1970.
Since then he has authored an extensive arr...more

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