R.C. Sherriff (1896-1975) served as a captain in the East Surrey regiment during the First World War and subsequently tried his hand at writing. Following rejection by many theatre managements, Journey's End was given a single performance by the Incorporated Stage Society, in which Lawrence Olivier took the lead role. The play's enormous success enabled Sherriff to become a full-time writer. He is remembered for his plays, the screenplays for the films The Invisible Man (1933), Goodbye Mr Chips (1933) and The Dam Busters (1955), and the novel The Hopkins Manuscript (1939).
Spectacular, skilled and moving... It is supremely and alarmingly relevant to our life today -- Fay Weldon Intensely readable and touching * Sunday Telegraph * I loved this book, by turns funny and tragic ... It's worth the cover price alone for the moonlit cricket match on the village green one night before the world is due to end. Magical -- Jeff Noon * Spectator, Books of the Year *