What Happened to the Corbetts

What Happened to the Corbetts (US title: Ordeal) is a novel by Nevil Shute, a fictional depiction of the effect of aerial bombing on the British city of Southampton, a major maritime centre.[1] On the initial day of publication, a thousand copies of the novel were distributed free of charge to members of the Air Raid Precautions team to inform them of what they might expect.France and the United States are neutral, but the Dominions except possibly Ireland declare war on Britain's side.Early in chapter 1 there is a mention of a newspaper cartoon which "represented the Prime Minister, very jocular, dangling a carrot before two donkeys separated from him by a wire fence.They move aboard their small yacht, kept on the river Hamble, but as disease spreads and supplies diminish, flee the area.