Books by Calvin Shields
“Dancing the Skies and Falling with Style” by Calvin Shields is a raw, darkly funny, and deeply human memoir-novel hybrid that charts a life lived on the edge — in war zones, boarding schools, cockpits, and cardiac wards. From a stroke high in the snowy peaks of Corsica, to skiing across Greenland, to a forbidden teenage crush in the gunfire-streaked streets of 1960s Aden, Shields blends razor-sharp observation with reckless wit and poignant vulnerability. Think Boyhood meets Catch-22, with a dash of Empire of the Sun.
This is not a polished tale of heroism — it’s better: messy, vivid, and real. Shields captures a lost era with cinematic flair, whether he’s freezing in a Corsican bergerie, dodging terrorists in Ma’alla, or facing down bullies in the British public school system. At once hilarious and heartbreaking, it’s the story of a boy becoming a man — and then being forced to question that identity all over again. A triumph of storytelling from an author who really has lived to tell the tale.
To be published Soon
“What Remains” by Calvin Shields is a gripping historical thriller which tunnels deep into the haunted mountains of southern France — unearthing secrets long buried in limestone and rock. With the layered intrigue of The Secrets We Kept and the atmospheric suspense of The Night Watch, Shields masterfully blends past and present in a dual timeline that spans a covert WWII bioweapon plot and a modern-day archaeological discovery that threatens to awaken it.
When a drone stumbles upon a hidden cave above the Gorge du Loup, the remains inside tell a story the world forgot. From the cafés of Vence to the brutal offices of Gestapo-occupied Cannes, British SOE agent Hugh Fraser is tasked with uniting a fractured Resistance ahead of the Allied landings — but betrayal, obsession, and a pathogen codenamed Projekt Morgenröte threatens everything. In 2019, archaeologist Émilie Moreau follows a trail of bones and secrets which may cost her more than just the truth.
Vivid, brutal, and beautifully written, What Remains is a novel of memory, resistance, and the hidden cost of survival — where the past doesn’t sleep, and some doors should never be opened.
Coming Soon : Fault Line
A true story of love, betrayal, and disillusionment at the twilight of the British Raj
This is not fiction. Drawn entirely from private letters, legal documents, and family archives, Fault Line uncovers a powerful and deeply human story set between colonial India and interwar France.
At its heart is the unlikely marriage of two people from opposite worlds: a reserved Scottish army officer stationed in the foothills of the Himalayas, and a wealthy, headstrong American heiress who lived life as a glittering fixture of Parisian high society. Their union, born of romance, was doomed by divergence. She thrived on the high life; he served with quiet loyalty, fulfilling duties in the service of empire.
When a devastating earthquake struck British Balouchistan in 1935, their lives were irrevocably changed. In the aftermath, a charming aristocratic officer with influence and opportunity became entwined with the family. His work done, the husband returned to Paris without his wife eventually to find his wife had betrayed him.
From the grandeur of colonial hill stations to a chateau in northern France, the story unfolds through the voices of those who lived it — a mosaic of letters, official reports, and heart-wrenching personal notes. Divorce, scandal, and a hidden pregnancy shake the veneer of empire and privilege, revealing fault lines not just in a marriage, but in an entire world order.
This work offers a rare window into the emotional costs of empire, the disintegration of duty and identity, and the very real people whose lives were shaped — and shattered — by history.