Ruined City (novel)

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Ruined City, sometimes published as "Kindling", is a 1938 novel by Nevil Shute.

[edit] Plot

The book tells the story of Henry Warren, a City of London financier. Amid the Depression, Warren continues to make money through hard work floating loans and stock issues--but at a price. Although only in his early forties, he is starting to have health problems--and his wife is having an affair with another man. They separate, and divorce proceedings begin. One night, out of desperation, and telling no one, he orders his chauffeur to drive him to the North of England, as he wants to go on a hiking tour to clear his head and gain some perspective. His chauffeur sets him down many hours north of London but is, unfortunately, killed on the return journey - hence, there is no one who knows where Warren is. Warren soon suffers severe intestinal pain and is taken to a hospital in the fictional Northumberland town of Sharples. His wallet goes astray, and everyone assumes he is one of many who were on the road during the Depression.

Sharples, once a prosperous town, was so entirely bound up with the shipyard that was its major employer that when the shipyard failed, so did the town. Unemployment is very high, and few shops remain open. The hospital is still open, however, and Warren is operated on successfully. While recovering, he learns of the town's plight, as he starts falling in love with the Hospital's Almoner, Alice MacMahon, a law graduate who never practised, but who is fiercely loyal to her town. He continues the pose of being indigent, and watches as others die through listlessness and lack of strength. Eventually his convalescence is complete and he is discharged. By this time, he has managed to have money and cheque forms sent to him, and he gives a major gift to the hospital, keeping it quiet.

Warren now wants to help the town, both out of affection for Alice and out of belief that something must be done. He quietly buys the shipyard for a song, but knows of no legitimate way of securing that first order to start the shipyard going again. He sees no other way but to indulge in shady dealings (before this, his name was a watchword for honesty).

Warren goes to the Balkan nation of Laevatia and begins bribing officials for control of the oil concession--once the concession is secured, the corporation which will result will need tankers to transport the oil. Thanks to the help of a courtesan, a dishonest card dealer, and other colourful characters, he is successful. The new corporation which Warren floats orders the tankers from the shipyard, which Warren also floats on the stock market. In doing so, he states in the prospectus that a profit will be made when he knows from a letter from the yard's manager that the opposite will be true: this falsification of a prospectus was and is a serious criminal offence - as Warren well knows.

The shipyard slowly starts up again. But when there is a revolution in Laevatia, the house of cards that Warren has built starts to collapse. The only way to keep the shipyard out of it is for Warren to take the responsibility entirely on himself. He does, and is sent to prison, where he serves two years and three months. He is completely unrepentant. Meanwhile, his love for Alice only awaits his release before they can be married. As a prisoner, without responsibility, he begins to recover his health and gain perspective on his life Since he can never return to his former work, he thinks about what to do with the remainder of his life (what he decides is not made clear). He will still be a wealthy man, and still has energy.

Upon his release, he travels up to Sharples, telling no one of his coming. There is no resemblance between the bustling, prosperous town he now sees, and the derelict one he remembers. He walks to the shipyard and sees a three foot square bronze plaque at the gate. It shows the head and shoulders of a man, in profile, and the words "HENRY WARREN/1934/HE GAVE US WORK". He is much affected. He is recognized, and the entire town, including Alice, hurries to the shipyard to greet him.[1]

[edit] Quotes

"There's only one cure for starvation--work! If only we could get some work back here. That's the only thing that allows you to be human and foolish, as you've got to be."

"'I believe that that's the one thing most worth doing in this modern world," he said quietly. 'to create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make money by their work. There's no dignity, no decency, or health today for men that haven't got a job. All other things depend on work today: without work men are utterly undone.'"

[edit] Notes

The book is, to some extent, based on Shute's own experience as a director of Airspeed, Ltd.[2].