Nicky-Nan, Reservist

News from Europe reaches Polpier just as its fishermen are waiting for the pilchard harvest in July 1914. Many have served in the Navy and belong to the Reserve, so talk of war brings an immediate worry about who will be there to land the catch. Nicholas Nanjivell, known locally as Nicky-Nan, is occupied with his painful leg and private grievances while the village children turn the approaching conflict into games on the quay.

Arthur Quiller-Couch sets this novel among fishing boats, shops and neighbours in Cornwall. At the vicarage, Mrs Steele gathers local people for a preliminary discussion, but Mrs Polsue challenges the choice of a private house for public business. The exchanges mix practical concerns with awkward manners and comic misunderstandings. Local speech gives the community a distinct voice, while the opening makes national events inseparable from the work that supports it. Readers interested in the civilian side of the First World War will find ordinary routines under growing pressure.