Richard Hughes (1900–1976) was a venerable English writer whose novels became part of the foundation of 20th-century British classics. "The Fox in the Attic" and "The Wood Shepherdess", two books conceived by the novelist of the epic, are united by common heroes and cover the period from 1923 to 1934. The action is transferred from England to Germany, America, Morocco. A talented, reflecting on the cardinal problems of modernity, the artist creates a wide social canvas His novels are the story of a dark, unforgettable time when fascism was ripening in revanchist Germany, the story of Hitler's ten-year path to power, the beginning of which, the Munich putsch, is depicted in "Fox in the attic", and the end, "the night of long knives", in "Wooden Shepherd" .