What Happened to the Corbetts (US title: Ordeal) is a novel by Nevil Shute, a fictional depiction of the effect of aerial bombing on the British city of Southampton, a major maritime centre. It was written in 1938, and published in April 1939 by William Heinemann Ltd, when the outbreak of World War II was already a very likely development. The novel addresses the issues of the aftermath of bombing, such as the spread of disease from lack of clean water, and what may be done to relieve the distress of those affected by it although the author concedes he "overlooked the importance of fire" as a consequence of bombing raids. On the initial day of publication, a thousand copies of the novel were distributed free of charge to members of the Air Raid Precautions team to inform them of what they might expect.The novel does not say which nation is bombing Southampton and many other towns in England. France and the United States are neutral, but the Dominions except possibly Ireland declare war on Britain's side. Early in chapter 1 there is a mention of a newspaper cartoon which "represented the Prime Minister, very jocular, dangling a carrot before two donkeys separated from him by a wire fence. One of the donkeys had the head of Hitler, and the other, Mussolini". Source: Wikipedia (en)