Four Freedoms

Four Freedoms is a 2009 historical novel by American writer John Crowley. It follows the adventures of several characters centering on a fictional aircraft manufacturing plant near Ponca City, Oklahoma during World War II, specifically from 1942 to 1945. The plant chiefly produces the fictional B-30 Pax bomber. It is Crowley's first novel after the completion of his Ægypt Sequence, and marks a turning in his style from the historically speculative series to historical realism. The novel deals with the manufacturing and war industries during World War II, but rather than dealing with the most able-bodied during this period, the novel takes up the story of minority groups, the disabled, and many others still awaiting rights of full citizenship taking an active role in America. In his Afterword, Crowley explicitly theorizes that the period would strongly influence later civil movements in the United States: Background The novel's title is a reference to the Four Freedoms Speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. Critics have noted that the partially paralyzed President inhabits the novel in spirit (though not actually appearing). Crowley notes in his afterword that though the B-30 Pax bomber is a fictional creation, it bears striking resemblance to the real Convair B-36 "Peacemaker", which he was not aware of until he had already created the fictional bomber.