Strangers in Time

Although the main fighting in World War II occurred on the European continent, Nazi Germany’s forceful push west made the threat of invasion on the British Isles a true possibility. Germany began a bombing campaign in Britain on September 7, 1940, which came to be known as Black Saturday—the first day of the Blitz. The German Luftwaffe fleet bombed London and other areas of England for 57 straight days and nights in the hopes of overwhelming the Royal Air Force and forcing a surrender. Tens of thousands of people died from the bombings, fires, and resulting homelessness (“The Blitz Around Britain.” Imperial War Museums). In the novel, Charlie recalls the horror of this day and the destruction of poor neighborhoods. He describes the U-shaped bend in the Thames around the Isle of Dogs—an East End neighborhood with countless docks and warehouses—which was so recognizable from the air that Germans could directly target it even at night.

After nine months of the Blitz, the Germans continued to sporadically bomb London. Strangers in Time is set late in 1944, and Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius experience several bombings over the course of a few months. Charlie believes the increased bombardments mean that the Germans are growing desperate as Allied forces begin taking back territory.