A God in Ruins

Teddy is 25 on the day that England’s entry into the war is announced. He plans to propose to Nancy soon. He goes to her family home to visit her and finds that she is ill, so the visit is brief. At home, Teddy tells Hugh that he wants to be a pilot. He sees the war as freedom from banking, studies, and domestic life. During a family lunch, his siblings ask him about his intentions, and he tells them he will join the RAF. Ursula confides in him that she is having an affair with a married man. After lunch, he takes a train to London. 

Teddy catches Nancy’s cough, which delays his entry into the war by several weeks. Two years later, he returns to see his family after his pilot training is finished. Ursula has been working with the Official Secrets Act group and tells Teddy that the war has been horrific so far. They visit Hugh’s grave, and Teddy is surprised by the intensity of his grief. Ursula must go back to London, and Teddy goes with her instead of staying with his mother. He remembers an accident that happened when a plane crashed during training.