No Highway by Nevil Shute – a Classic from 1948

No Highway is classic for many reasons – compulsively readable, written with a wry sense of humour and a real understanding of human nature.

So an eccentric but brilliant scientist works at Farnborough.  The setting was contemporary – which makes it historical now.  The scientist has a mixed reputation as a result of his off duty interest in unusual subjects such as automatic writing and the return of Jesus to Glastonbury.

He calculates that the tail piece of a new plane is likely to fail at around 1400 hours.  He is sent over to investigate one that has crashed to check what happened.

From there things get really complicated.  Mr Honey, the scientist, is not good at being believed generally but on the flight over he meets 2 women who recognise his brilliance and his kindness.

You will have to read the book to find out what happens.

I always thought that Neville Shute was Australian – due to his books set in Australia like A Town Like Alice and On The Beach.  But he was born in London.  He was an aeronautical engineer and worked on secret weapons during the war.  He moved to Australia after the war until his death in 1960.

Thanks to Journey and Destination for inspiring me to check out this author again