The Hero of Saint Roger

Nestled in the warmth of the Caribbean, the island of Saint Roger is in many ways idyllic and consequently a popular destination for tourists…

Until one day, disaster strikes. With their home all but destroyed, the islanders must re-build their prosperity, but just a few years after the end of the Second World War, that is more easily said than done.

Ingenuity and leadership is called for. And an ingenious plan is duly hatched. 

A plan that is both ingenious and perhaps, morally questionable. As the Prefect of Saint Roger heads to France to bring the plan to fruition, he makes sure that the local priest has been kept in the dark…

In time, the world’s attention turns towards Saint Roger and towards a young woman called Gabrielle.

But Gabrielle is having second thoughts. As are the administrators of Saint Roger, one of whom finally confesses to the priest.

As events unfold, and some reflect on their own wartime experiences and those of loved ones who died, a question arises. 

Is the plot to deceive the world an outright sin, or can it in some way be used to honour the acts, aspirations and memories of people who have recently died in pursuit of a better world, and to improve the lot of the islanders?

At the moral heart of the action is the local priest, Father Pierre. Is his primary duty to save the islanders from their leaders’ moral failings, or to promote their welfare and more laudable aspirations and actions? 

A fun, fast-moving and often witty novel, The Hero of Saint Roger is at once an adventure, a love story and an absorbing reflection upon political and social issues in the decade after the Second World War.