Entertaining and amusing, Louis De Berniers is a wonderful writer. His love of England, and its eccentricities and history, is clear to see in this story.

Sadly I did not enjoy this. The book is part of a series and this is the only one I have read so I do think that is a big part of my lack of enjoyment. I just did not connect to the plot or the characters. I did think this was well written though and there were glimpses of enjoyment which would have increased had I read the others.

I have been a fan of de Bernieres for years and this book feels like a return to form. Not quite as good as Captain Corelli, but with the same rich characterisation, flawless dialogue, and engaging plot.

Daniel Pitt lives out a long third act of life in The Autumn of the Ace. Rather than find himself irrelevant at the end of the second war, Daniel has a series of adventures and encounters. He is hoping to learn from some of his mistakes and enjoy life in peacetime. I would hope to be half as active as Daniel as he travels the world or half as sensible. There is a massive cast of great characters including a tame white lion. Louis de Bernieres makes you nostalgic for Daniel's dangerous life, padded as it is with extreme privilege. A great read.

'Autumn of the Ace' concludes Louis de Bernieres' 20th century spanning epic trilogy. It picks up the lives of the characters introduced in the first two novels after the end of the Second World War. The central character, former fighter pilot Daniel, once again finds himself bored by peacetime after an exciting sounding but mostly off-page stint as part of spy agency SOE.

And herein lies one of the book's problems - any thrilling plot opportunities are largely behind the characters. The decision to not cover most of the war at all (the second novel finished mid-way through) seems a strange one, particularly for an author who writes very well and powerfully about conflict. Whist there are little hints at it throughout when characters reminisce, it's not the same as reading about it in the present tense.

Essentially it's a book about the old age and slow deterioration of the characters we first met as young people in 'The Dust that Falls from Dreams'. One by one they drop as the book goes on, which seems a rather depressing premise for a novel. A bit too much like life. It's well written and easy to read, but like the others in the series, it fails to excite in any way. In fact, the lack of the wartime setting to add some adventure and peril coupled with the gloomy realisation that yes, we are going to have to read through every one of the characters dying before the end, makes this the weakest installment of the three.

Daniel is a good character, and there is a lot less of the hugely annoying Rosie in this one, which can only be a bonus. But none of the characters really interested me and I didn't feel any strong emotional attachment even to Daniel. There is also an odd overlapping with some of de Bernieres other novels, which I found irritating - particularly when he did this with his brilliant South American trilogy which was slightly magical realist - it didn't sit at all well in the same 'universe' as this essentially rather dull plod through postwar Britain.

If you've read the first two novels, you might as well read this one and at least finish off the story of the characters. If you haven't embarked on the trilogy yet, don't bother. Louis de Bernieres has written much better books than these, and other writers have written much better 20th century epics. Use your reading time for those.

This is the final book in the trilogy that starts with The Dust That Falls from Dreams, charting the exploits of Daniel Pitt through two world wars and beyond. This book starts with the end of World War II and we follow Daniel through the last decades of his life, bringing to a close not just his story, but those whose lives have intersected with his, friends and relatives. I have read the other two books in the trilogy and I would say that if you haven't, you really need to, as this book makes little sense without the investment in Daniel and his companions. This is a melancholy affair and although I really wanted to find out what happened to everyone, I found it rather sad. There are little Easter eggs along the way in this book, if you are a fan of de Berniere's other books. I found some of these episodes charming and delightful and others rather heavy handed and slightly distracting from the main thrust of the book. It was, for me, the weakest of the three volumes, but I enjoyed it very much regardless.

i had no idea that this is the third part of a trilogy. It stands up on its own merit and can be read alone. I absolutely loved this book: the characters, the sense of time and place, puss the lion.. it is beautifully written and yet easy to follow.. I she a tear at the nd as i developed much empathy for daniel.. a fab read and one i will definitely recommend.. now to find the other two in the series..

Autumn of the Ace brings this series to a satisfying conclusion. It's the final chapter of Daniel Pitt's life, and some of the most life affirming and rewarding storylines yet. Having witnessed his early life and disastrous marriage to Rosie, then his tumultuous career, strange family dynamics, and intriguing relationships, set against the backdrop of two world wars and their, both devestating and sculpting, impacts on lives.

Daniel's life as a family man, philanderer, flying ace, and mechanic is explored within a milieu of characters who simultaneously experience the ups and downs of the 20th century. It's much more than a family saga, or bildungsroman, it's a story of the far reaching tendrils of war, societal change, and empire. It challenges you to consider war's influence as neither black or white whilst acknowledging the harsh realities of its impact. It's three dimensional and through the lens of Daniel Pitt and the McCosh family it offers a complex and rich exploration for numerous themes that smother 20th century history. Stylistically it roams around which is a apt choice as it reflects the chaotic and complex themes and narrative. I would wholeheartedly recommend sticking with the series to the end to realise the breathtaking scope and themes that De Bernieres explores in this historical novel.

The Autumn of the Ace picks up the latter years of wartime ace Daniel Pitt. A sweeping narrative of a hero from both world wars, we join Daniel after WWII as he struggles to find his feet in a world with a different purpose. Daniel takes us on adventures, revisits earlier loves and finds warmth among the younger generations.

A book of a life lived and losses suffered, The Autumn of the Ace is an absolute joy. Immersive, thoughtful and sweeping, I absolutely loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harvill Secker (Vintage) for an ARC in consideration of an honest review. I was a little blindsided, having not realised that this was #3 in a trilogy, which would normally send me to start from the beginning. However, I trusted fellow reviewers who suggested that The Autumn of the Aces is a fine standalone and the earlier books will rightly follow. I couldn’t agree more.

Autumn of the Ace is everything that you would expect from de Bernieres - finely honed characters, exquisite dialogue and a real sense of place all of which linger in the memory long after completion.
Although much of the theme has been covered before by other authors ( and de Bernieres himself), focussing on the impact of war on families and relationships, Autumn of the Ace draws you in enveloping the reader in the lives of the Pitt family. The characters by the end of the book feel like your own family, their triumphs and tribulations keenly felt. Highly recommended

I didn't know that this book is the last in a trilogy when I started to read it but, in any case, it isn't necessary to have read the first two books to enjoy this one.
This is a rambling family saga with a large cast of characters and a vast number of settings. The action moves steadily through the final years of the main character in a beautifully written tapestry. There are many touching descriptions of family relationships.
Having read this book I would now like to read the two earlier novels too.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

The Autumn of the Ace is the third book Louis de Bernieres has written about the Pitt family. The first book, The Dust that Falls from Dreams, begins in the late 1800s when the children of two families are small and growing affection for each other. Their love isn't always returned, and complications from failed passions grow in the context of an unfolding 20th century. Families are complicated, and although Daniel would love to have had a family and a home, the reality of everyone's choices, and the acceptance of building an alternative life, fills three books with intelligence and laughter. I love his observations of humanity and I read everything he writes. Hugely recommended.

Pitt family saga. A long stories about families. The stories are all the same, only the details are different, and only the details really matter.

Literary perfection. Written with wit and sense, praise to Louis de Bernieres.

‘The Autumn of the Ace’ is the last in a trilogy about Daniel Pitt spanning the twentieth century. The reader is taken all over the world as we follow the now elderly Daniel’s travels to Peshawar to bury his brother’s remains, to South Africa to visit the graves of two elder brothers and then on to Canada where he becomes involved in a couple of eccentric engineering projects before being prevailed upon to return home to England by his wife, Rosie, and mistress Christabel.
Louis de Bernières conjures up his far-flung settings memorably. The authenticity of these places is a real strength of the novel. One of the most moving, albeit brief, relationships portrayed is between Daniel and his guide in Pakistan where both men quickly bond over times past, value each other’s company and respect each other’s views. Inevitably, Daniel spends a good deal of time reflecting on death as he visits his brothers’ graves, pondering that, ‘Nobody grieves for them now. One day there will be nobody left to weep for me, and then nobody left to weep for those who did.
‘I wish I knew what it means, and if it means nothing at all, I would like to know that too.’
This style of musing is typical of the rather ponderous, navel-gazing thoughts of the central characters. They are all privileged members of society, and don’t really seem to appreciate what ‘ordinary’ people’s struggles might be like, even though much of the novel is set in the second half of the twentieth century, an era this reviewer remembers as a time when social class barriers were certainly beginning to crumble. De Bernières’ men are usually sympathetically portrayed; his women less so. At one point the elderly Daniel says to his granddaughter, ‘…a long marriage is even more difficult than a difficult war. It’s like an unending SOE mission…’. This sort of pontificating comes out of nowhere; Daniel is spectacularly unqualified to know this. He has given up on his marriage, enjoying a long-term affair with his sister-in-law instead!
De Bernières’ novel may appeal to readers who enjoy looking back either with nostalgia or as an escape from today’s realities. There is no denying that the author writes very well; nevertheless, despite their adventures and their emotional highs and lows, his characters do not move this reader. Ultimately ‘The Autumn of the Ace’ feels like a highly stylised, elaborate ‘Downton Abbey type’ costume drama rather than a story about real people with genuine feelings.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Louis de Bernieres completes his trilogy that centres on half French WW1 fighter ace, Daniel Pitt, opening with the end of WW2 in which Daniel gets further decorated with medals and promotion after 4 years with the SOE, adventures flying to occupied France and back at night, carrying spies and partisans back and forth. In this epic trilogy, we follow Daniel, those connected to him, his friends, family, children and grandchildren and their lives, through the impact and repercussions of two world wars, the losses, the sorrow, the grief, the trauma, survival and their deaths, one by one, concluding here with Daniel's death. In WW2, Daniel lost his beloved daughter, Esther, and he struggles through the years to fight and reconnect with his son, Bertie, who does not want to know him, kept from him through the lies and deceit by his wife, Rosie, who refused to divorce him.

Daniel has two further children, Felix and Felicity, with the bohemian Cristabel, who herself is in a life long relationship with another woman, the painter Gaskell, forming an unconventional family with Daniel, in which he is close to Felix and Felicity as they grow up on their Hexham estate with Puss, their white lion, purchased from the Harrod's pet department. However, he remains unacknowledged as their father to fit into the limitations imposed by the social norms and attitudes of the times. Cristabel is Rosie's sister, and is the woman with whom Daniel maintains the longest and strongest of love relationships of his life, he keeps in close contact with Rosie's other sisters, Ottilia and Sophie. With the death of his brother, Archie, Daniel embarks on a pilgrimage and sacred undertaking, carrying his bones to Peshawar, where he wanted to buried, continuing his journey in search of the graves of his older brothers in apartheid South Africa. He continues to seek adventures in his sixties, riding his motorbike from New York to Canada with Oily Wragge, living in Canada longer than the 6 months he had envisaged, drawn back to England by those he loves, having missed Rosie's funeral, who had so wanted to reconcile with him at the end.

The author has written an emotionally affecting trilogy, following the lives of a wide cast of characters I came to really care about, in which the wars trigger thoughts and philosophical discussions, raising questions of faith and religion, and a melancholic understanding that military victories are ephemeral that so often change little. It was heartbreaking following the deaths in the novel, one after the other, highlighting that ageing really is not for the faint hearted, I felt particularly broken by the deaths of Christabel and Gaskell. Daniel lives a long life, well lived, that he could not have envisaged after surviving WW1, a life that sees him develop close relationships with his grandchildren, Theodore and Phoebe, and granted a late final miracle prior to his death. This is a beautifully immersive read, covering the cultural and social changes in Britain through the decades that I think will appeal to a wide range of readers, especially those who love their historical fiction. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.