This is a superb account of a long life, well lived. Fermor was a son of the Raj, brought up by effectively a single mother, who failed at school and, aged 18, set off to walk from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople, an adventure which changed his life.
Fermor was great at languages and making friends. These skills brought him out of Rumania in 1939 and into the Intelligence Corps. From there it was the Special Operations Executive and undercover work on what the Nazis called Fortress Crete. Medals and public recognition came with the abduction of General Heinrich Kreipe in 1944 (see my review of Ill Met by Moonlight, below).
After the war Fermor settled in Greece and became a famous travel writer. Ultimately this led to a knighthood. He died, aged 96, in 2011.
I have already commented on Cooper's literary DNA and skills (see my review of her Cairo, below). By the time she wrote this, in 2012, her skills had developed even further. Once you know about her, it's good fun to see how she underplays her famial links with Fermor in the final third of the book. Her husband visits him in Greece, but she doesn't mention herself being there. Her father and grandmother were close friends with Fermor and she herself has a Greek forename. Coincidence?
But that's just an extra for those in the know. Anyone would derive tremendous pleasure from this book. It is a rare gift to be able to write about war, travel and the making of books with equal care and aplomb.
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