Essay

"Creating a novel from the fabric of history"

by David L. Robbins

I always envisioned myself as a writer of general fiction. But because the excitement from readers, reviewers, and my publisher for War of the Rats, I began a second novel delving into the tales of World War II. During my research for this new novel, The End of War (on sale August 1), I fell in love with the process of creating a novel from the fabric of history. The End of War (taken from Plato: "Only the dead have seen The End of War") relates the true story of the last five months of the campaign in Europe: the race and climactic battle for Berlin.

The End of War completes the story begun in War of the Rats, the completion of the Russian victory over Germany begun in Stalingrad. The book is peopled by three real characters-Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt-and three fictional characters: an American photojournalist; a Russian soldier; and a German woman cellist for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The reader will learn about the real-life dramas, cunning betrayals, and schemes of the Big Three, then see how their Olympian intents are played out at ground level in the lives of three normal, vulnerable people just trying to survive the war and comprehend their own roles in the day-in-day struggle.

Some early responses to the new book have mirrored those from War of the Rats, where readers enjoy the fast-paced tale and the writing, and remark how much they've learned from the book. This excites me as my father and mother were both WWII veterans. I feel like I am contributing to keeping their great era and sacrifices alive, educating our generation while entertaining, bringing the human proportions of war and history to a new reader.