AustLit logo
image of person or book cover 8549824165142185437.jpg
This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon The Breaking Wave single work   novel   war literature  
Issue Details: First known date: 1955... 1955 The Breaking Wave
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Alan Duncan returns to his family home in Australia after the war and several years of study in England. But his homecoming is marred by the mysterious suicide of his parents' quiet and reliable parlour-maid. A search through her belongings in search of clues leads to heartbreaking revelations about the woman's identity, the death of Alan's brother Bill, and, above all, the disappearance of his brother's fiancee, Janet.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2009 Vintage ed.).

Notes

  • Epigraph: Stanzas from A. C. Swinburne's poem 'The Triumph of Time'.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Heinemann , 1955 .
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 287p.
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Heinemann ,       1955 .
      image of person or book cover 8549824165142185437.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 250p.
      Reprinted: 1960 , 1974 , 2000 , 1967 , 1962
      Note/s:
      • First reviewed in TLS, 29 April 1955.
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       William Morrow ,       1955 .
      image of person or book cover 3435820181910517584.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: The Breaking Wave
      Extent: 282p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 6 April 1955.
    • Garden City, New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Doubleday ,       1955 .
      Extent: 509p.
      Note/s:
      • Also contains contributions from other authors bound with Shute's 'complete' novel.
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Reprint Society ,       1956 .
      image of person or book cover 8910994280762702353.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 250p.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Three of a Kind Nevil Shute , London : Heinemann , 1962 Z1423305 1962 selected work novel London : Heinemann , 1962 pg. 1-206
    Note: Alt Title: Requiem for a Wren
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Ballantine Books ,       1964 .
      image of person or book cover 7371755314762065875.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 222p.
      Reprinted: 1969 , 1985
    • Geneva,
      c
      Switzerland,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Edito-Service ,       1968 .
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 250p.
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Heron Books ,       1968 .
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 250p.
      Note/s:
      • Original illustrations by Patricia Ludlow.
      ISBN: 0900948086
    • c
      Canada,
      c
      Americas,      :       Heron Books ,       1970-1979 .
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 250p.
      Note/s:
      • Published by arrangement with William Heinemann. Original illustrations by Patricia Ludlow.
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Pan ,       1971 .
      image of person or book cover 58557497483951003.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 253p.
      ISBN: 0330026720
    • Leicester, Leicestershire,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Charnwood ,       1987 .
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 391p.
      ISBN: 0708984428
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Mandarin ,       1990 .
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 288p.
      ISBN: 0749303417
    • Thirsk, Yorkshire,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       House of Stratus ,       2000 .
      image of person or book cover 8010791626441606673.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Requiem for a Wren
      Extent: 285p.
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Vintage UK ,       2009 .
      image of person or book cover 604714737345935572.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 272p.p.
      Reprinted: 2011 (ebook)
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 December 2009 (paperback) and 1 August 2011 (ebook).
      ISBN: 9780099530237 (pbk), 9781409087427 (ebk)
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Vintage ,       2010 .
      image of person or book cover 7139342968802916843.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 249p.
      ISBN: 9780307474025 (pbk.), 9780307474025 (pbk.)
      Series: y separately published work icon Vintage International New York (City) : Vintage , 1993- 19532994 1993 series - publisher novel

      'William Faulkner, Philip Roth, Alice Munro, Thomas Mann, Doris Lessing, Albert Camus, V.S. Naipaul, Gabriel García Márquez, Salman Rushdie, Joan Didion, and Cormac McCarthy, among many others: Vintage International is devoted to publishing the best writing of the past century from the world over. Offering both classic and modern fiction and literary nonfiction in elegant editions, Vintage International aims to provide readers with world-class writing that has stood the test of time and essential works by the preeminent authors of today.'

      Source: Vintage.
Alternative title: Janet
Language: Danish
    • Copenhagen,
      c
      Denmark,
      c
      Scandinavia, Western Europe, Europe,      :       Aalborg ,       1955 .
      Extent: 250p.
    • Copenhagen,
      c
      Denmark,
      c
      Scandinavia, Western Europe, Europe,      :       Vinten ,       1961 .
      Extent: 190p.
      Reprinted: 1963 , 1981 , 1971
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Other Formats

  • Also braille and sound recording.
Find library holdings on Trove

Works about this Work

Reviewed Briefly 1955 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 20 July vol. 76 no. 3936 1955; (p. 2)
— Review of The Breaking Wave Nevil Shute , 1955 single work novel
Reviewed Briefly 1955 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 20 July vol. 76 no. 3936 1955; (p. 2)
— Review of The Breaking Wave Nevil Shute , 1955 single work novel
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (1)
Last amended 12 Jun 2020 09:46:28
Subjects:
  • c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Victoria,
  • c
    Australia,
    c
Settings:
  • 1940s
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X