Blitz!

The blitzkreig by German bombers that devastated London in 1940 is the unifying agent in this first adult novel from a writer of children's books and a biographer of Coleridge. The spirited narrative follows four families--whose backgrounds run the gamut from stiff-lipped upper class to raunchy working poor--in their often intertwined reactions to the changes brought about by the death that rained from the skies, destroying property and lives. Chiefly through the stories of young women saddled with childhood nicknames of Jampot, Thingy and Boggy, we learn of courage in facing loss of friends, family and lovers. Lefebure conveys vividly the tumultuous, chaotic scrambling for survival that mobilized London under siege, much of the accuracy of her portrayal obviously stemming from her experiences as a newspaper reporter in East London during the blitz. (June)