by Peter Rimmer
Then all she could see in her mind’s eye was Tinus looking at the aircraft with shining eyes.
“What are you thinking of so intensely, Genevieve?” asked Gregory next to her at the ship’s rail, both of them staring out at the running sea.
“That none of this may matter after all.”
“We land in New York tomorrow.”
“Thank goodness. And please, Greg, whatever you do in the future, don’t try and be a hero. I may not be around you at the time to tell you to stay at home.”
Taking in Genevieve’s faraway look, Gregory understood.
“You’re thinking of Tinus, not me, aren’t you, Gen?”
The Brigandshaws will return in the sixth installment, It’s Only Treason when You Lose. Coming soon!
Dear Reader
Reviews are the most powerful tools in our kitty when it comes to getting attention for Peter’s books. This is where you can come in, as by providing an honest review you will help bring them to the attention of other readers.
If you enjoyed reading On the Brink of Tears, and have five minutes to spare, we would really appreciate a review (it can be as short as you like). Your help in spreading the word and keeping Peter’s work alive is gratefully received.
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Heather Stretch (Peter’s daughter)
PS. We look forward to you joining Peter’s growing band of avid readers.
Principal Characters
The Brigandshaws
Harry — Central character of On the Brink of Tears
Tina — Harry's wife, formerly Tina Pringle
Anthony, Beth, Frank, Dorian and Kim — Harry and Tina's children
Sir Henry Manderville — Harry's maternal grandfather who lives on Elephant Walk
Emily — Harry's mother who lives on Elephant Walk
The Oosthuizens
Madge — Harry's younger sister and wife of Barend
Tinus — Madge and Barend's eldest son
Paula and Doris — Tinus's younger sisters
Barend (deceased) — Madge's husband
The St Clairs
Merlin — Eldest son of Lord and Lady St Clair
Robert — Second son of Lord and Lady St Clair
Barnaby — Youngest son of Lord and Lady St Clair and one-time lover of Tina Pringle
Freya — Robert's American wife
Lord St Clair — Seventeenth Barron of Purbeck
Lady St Clair — Mother to Merlin, Robert and Barnaby
Genevieve — Merlin's illegitimate daughter
The von Liebermans
Klaus — A WW1 German pilot shot down by Harry Brigandshaw in 1917
Bergit — Klaus's wife
Erwin — Klaus and Bergit's eldest son
Gabby and Melina — Klaus and Bergit's daughters
General Werner — Klaus's uncle high up in the Nazi Party
Henning — Werner's son
Other Principal Characters
Alfie Hanshaw — A shipyard riveter
Andre Cloete — South African school friend of Tinus
Arthur Bumley — Editor of the Daily Mirror
Betty Townsend — William Smythe's secretary
Bruno Kannberg — Latvian journalist of the Mirror
Captain Cyrus Craig — Captain of the SS Corfe Castle
Carmel Casimir — Louis Casimir's wife
Celia Larson — Fleur Brooks’s friend and student at the Royal College of Music
De Wet Cronjé — Harry Brigandshaw's ground engineer
Doctor Andrew Nash — SS Corfe Castle's doctor
Edward — Barnaby St Clair's manservant
Fleur Brooks — Celia Larson's friend and student at the Royal College of Music
Fred Dwyer — Harry Brigandshaw's civil engineer
Fritz Wendel — A Jewish informant living in Germany
Gillian West — Bruno Kannberg's girlfriend
Glen Hamilton — Editor of the Colorado Telegraph and friend of Harry Brigandshaw and Robert St Clair
Gregory L'Amour — An American actor
Hillier — An old German man living in Berlin
Horatio Wakefield — Journalist at the Daily Mail
Iggy Bowes-Lyon — Harry Brigandshaw's friend and co-pilot
Janet Bray — Horatio Wakefield's girlfriend
John Woodall — Flying instructor at Redhill Aerodrome
Louis Casimir — Jewish film producer who changed his name to Gerry Hollingsworth
Max Pearl — Robert St Clair's American publisher
Mr Glass — Editor of the Daily Mail
Mrs Craddock — The cook at Hastings Court
Paul Dexter — Louis Casimir's chief of publicity
Pippa Tucker — Friend of Janet Bray
Sir Jacob Rosenzweig — A Jewish bank owner
Smithers — Merlin St Clair's manservant
Tembo Makoni — Boss boy on Elephant Walk and Harry's boyhood friend
Thornton Holmes — District Commissioner of the Tanganyika Territory
Timothy Kent — RAF Pilot seconded to the Air Ministry
Vivian Makepeace — Controller of British East Africa
William Smythe — Journalist and friend of Horatio Wakefield
About Peter Rimmer
Peter Rimmer was born in London, England, and grew up in the south of the city where he went to school. After the Second World War, and aged eighteen, he joined the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of Pilot Officer before he was nineteen. At the end of his National Service, he sailed for Africa to grow tobacco in what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
The years went by and Peter found himself in Johannesburg where he established an insurance brokering company. Over 2% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange were clients of Rimmer Associates. He opened branches in the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong and travelled extensively between them.
Having lived a reclusive life on his beloved smallholding in Knysna, South Africa, for over 25 years, Peter passed away in July 2018. He has left an enormous legacy of unpublished work for his family to release over the coming years, and not only them but also his readers from around the world will sorely miss him. Peter Rimmer was 81 years old.
Also by Peter Rimmer
Cry of the Fish Eagle
Vultures in the Wind
Bend with the Wind
Just the Memory of Love
Second Beach
The African Trilogy Box Set (3 Standalones - Cry of the Fish Eagle, Vultures in the Wind, Just the Memory of Love)
THE BRIGANDSHAW CHRONICLES
(The Rise and Fall of the Anglo Saxon Empire)
Echoes from the Past (Book 1)
Elephant Walk (Book 2)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (Book 3)
To the Manor Born (Book 4)
On the Brink of Tears (Book 5)
The Brigandshaw Chronicles Box Set (Books 1-3)
Acknowledgments
With grateful thanks to our VIP First Readers for reading On the Brink of Tears prior to its official launch date. They have been fabulous in picking up errors and typos helping us to ensure that your own reading experience of On the Brink of Tears has been the best possible. Their time and commitment is particularly appreciated.
Alan McConnochie (South Africa)
Hilary Jenkins (South Africa)
Thank you.
Kamba Publishing
ON THE BRINK OF TEARS
Copyright © Peter Rimmer 2019
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, long-standing establishments, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
First published in Great Britain in May 2019 by
KAMBA PUBLISHING, United Kingdom
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Cover D
esign by Toby Farrell, Kamba Publishing
Peter Rimmer asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Kamba Publishing at [email protected].