''Night Over Water'' is a thriller novel written by author

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

in 1991. ''Night Over Water'' is a fictionalized account of the final flight of the

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

Clipper passenger airplane during the first few days of World War II, early September, 1939. Follett is careful to state that, though the flight and all of the characters are fictional the plane, a

Boeing 314 The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design fro ...

, was real and was nicknamed the "Pan Am Clipper." It was a seaplane, an aircraft that landed in the sea, not on an airstrip, powered by 4 propeller engines. It was capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in little more than 24 hours with intermediate stops in Shannon Estuary at Foynes, Ireland, Bay of Exploits at

Botwood, Newfoundland Botwood is a town in north-central Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in Census Division 6. It is located on the west shore of the Bay of Exploits on a natural deep water harbour used by cargo ships and seaplanes throughout the town ...

and Shediac Bay, Canada, at each of which stops Follett adds a scene or two of intrigue. This route made the Pan Am Clipper the fastest mode of transatlantic travel at the time — and very appealing to those who wanted to escape from Britain before the start of the war. The tale begins with several separated threads, telling the individual stories of the people who later all end up in this last flight to New York. Though Follett manages to bundle all these together, the events the characters share while travelling with the clipper are still told through the perspectives introduced before. Each of these main characters is heading for his own interests in the beginning but soon they melt together. The theme is the importance of recognizing the threat of

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

and also a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

message of women standing up for themselves.

List of Characters

* Tom Luther - enigmatic passenger with a mystery mission to kidnap a fleeing passenger * Eddie Deakin -

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air me ...

being blackmailed by the kidnapping of his wife into helping Tom Luther * Carl Hartmann - German Jewish physicist fleeing Nazis * Clive Membury - British passenger * Baron Gabon - French Jewish aristocrat helping Carl Hartmann flee * The Oxenfords (Lord, Lady, Elizabeth, Percy, Margaret) - wealthy English family. Lord Oxenford is a Nazi sympathizer who will be arrested if he remains in England another week. Margaret is his 19-year-old rebellious daughter. Lady Oxenford is traveling with the priceless Delhi Suite jewels. * Harry Marks - charming young lower class English jewel thief jumping bail to America * Diana Lovesey - beautiful 34-year-old Englishwoman running away from an unhappy marriage * Mark Alder - 35-year-old American radio scriptwriter running away with Diana Lovesey, friend of Lulu Bell * Mervyn Lovesey - Diana's 38-year-old handsome but controlling British industrialist husband who wants his wife back * Nancy Lenehan - tough-minded 40-year-old American businesswoman rushing home to save her shoe factory from being sold off by her sneaky younger brother falls in love with Mervyn Lovesey * Peter Black - 38-year-old brother of Nancy Lenehan, racing to a board meeting to vote his sister out * Nat Ridgeway - Nancy's mentor in business and former beau * Captain Marvin Baker - Clipper pilot * First Officer Johnny Dott - Clipper co-pilot * Mickey Finn - Eddie Deakin's deputy flight engineer * Lulu Bell - famous American actress * Princess Lavinia - Russian princess escaping to America * Steve Appleby - Eddie Deakin's old Navy buddy * Vincini, Joe and Kid - thugs who kidnapped Eddie's wife * Ollis Field - F.B.I. agent escorting the extradited Frank Gordon to America * Frank Gordon A.K.A. Frankie Gordino - handsome American mobster, wanted in the US for rape, murder and arson

External links

Ken Follett's Night Over Water - official site
{{Ken Follett 1991 British novels Novels set during World War II Novels by Ken Follett Fiction set in 1939 Aviation novels Macmillan Publishers books