Human Voices is a novel by British author Penelope Fitzgerald. It is set in World War II London during 1940, from the Fall of France to the Battle of Britain.
Fitzgerald worked for the wartime Ministry of Food from June to November 1940. She then worked for the BBC until war's end.
Seymour "Sam" Brooks, RPD
A brilliant technician, mid-40s, he is noted for having increased BBC's sound clarity. He surrounds himself with young female assistants, whom he uses for sharing his worries, but otherwise ignores. His main interest is the development of a portable windshield for microphones.
Jeff Haggard, DDP
Modest about himself, he is forceful in his job. He breaks rules to help other people and the BBC. He keeps Brooks focused.
Lise Bernard, an RPA
In love with (and pregnant by) Frédé, a free French soldier who has moved on.
Violet Simmons, an RPA
Lise and Annie at times board with her family.
Annie Asra, an RPA
Only seventeen, the orphaned daughter of a piano tuner. She falls in love with Brooks, not that he notices. Her name is from the Heinrich Heine poem "Der Asra", about a tribe of slaves that die when they fall in love.
John "Mac" McVitie
American broadcaster, employee of NBS, friendly with Haggard.
John "the Halibut" Haliburton
Senior Broadcaster, with a distinctive hoarse voice, believed impossible for the Germans to ever counterfeit.
General Georges Pinard
French general, Anglophile due to horse racing, defeatist after his escape to London.
BBC
British Broadcasting Corporation
BH
Broadcasting House
DG
Director General
DDG
Deputy Director General
ADDG
Acting Deputy Director General
RPD
Recorded Programmes Director
RPA
Recorded Programmes Assistant
JTA
Junior Temporary Assistant
JPE
Junior Programme Engineer
DPP
Director of Programme Planning
AD(E)
Assistant Director (Establishment)
NBS
National Broadcasting System (fictional American broadcaster)
CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
FL
France Libre (Free French)
Fitzgerald, drawing on her own youthful employment at the BBC, brings time, place, and characters to life in a book remarkable for its dexterous and appealing prose.
The novel has a chapter of its own in Peter Wolfe Understanding Penelope Fitzgerald and Hermione Lee Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life
