First World War fiction
Casemate Publishers Behind the Lines
Book Synopsis‘I never saw the man again, alive or dead. One will say that I saw him only for a moment, that it was misty at the time, and that even I did not recognise the features, covered as they were with grime and stubble. Yet I am sure that the taller of the two ragged civilians I saw in the chalk quarry that misty March morning of 1918 was that Lieutenant Peter Rawley, R. F.A., who the official records stated was killed near Arras the previous autumn.’Behind the Lines is a thriller that follows on from the success of W. F. Morris’s first novel, Bretherton: Khaki or Field-Grey? Morris is again concerned with questions of identity, allegiance, chance, concealment and self-discovery. A subaltern is forced to flee when he accidentally kills an overbearing, taunting fellow officer: appearances are all against him and he does not trust to trench justice. He becomes a fugitive and has to join forces with other deserters, lost soldiers and outlaws in a hand-to-mouth existence in the no man’s land between opposing forces. A series of adventures and disasters ensue, including capture by the Germans and near death by firing squad. Only his own bravery and the devotion of his fiancé can rescue him from his plight.A contemporary commentator noted that ‘in spite of the flood of war books’, Morris was able to achieve ‘a quite different viewpoint from all the others’, and his book was ‘an outstanding success’.
£13.35
Casemate Publishers Roux the Bandit
Book SynopsisSet deep in the mountains of southern France, this charming short novel tells the story of a man from the Cèvennes Mountains called Roux, who refuses to join the army at the outbreak of war in 1914. Instead, he flees and hides in the hills, only returning occasionally to the farm where he left his mother and sisters. The people of the valley condemn his desertion and they hope the police will find his hideout. But as the months and the years go by, and the horrors of the trenches become known, the local people start to understand Roux’s actions. Roux begins to appear in the village more often, helping out and explaining that his decision was taken out of respect for the Bible. His arrest at the end of the War is therefore met with sadness and regret. Chamson explores questions of perception, morality and conscience with a lightness of touch coupled with an atmospheric picture of life in a WWI era rural community.Trade ReviewFor me, Roux is the hero who had the courage to become an outlaw, to oppose the ideas so solidly adhered to by others. He rejected violence only to suffer from the insults of his community… I admire Chamson’s audacity in publishing this advocacy for freedom of choice in the context of the First World War. This is why Roux the Bandit is such an important book – its freedom. * Henri Veyrier, Editor and Bookseller *While Roux the Bandit is a slender work, in its writing, its simplicity of construction and the exposition of the simple philosophy of a conscientious objector and the growing acceptance of his personal philosophy by his fellow villagers is a gem. * Stand to! *
£12.31
Casemate Publishers Riders Upon the Storm
Book SynopsisPhillip Parotti’s new novel chronicles the fast-paced action of a collection of American submarine chasers as they battle to reduce the German U-Boat menace in the English Channel during the last year of World War I. Lieutenant (junior grade) Ben Snow takes a commission in the United States Naval Reserve, and whips a dissolute crew into fighting shape. They then take their little submarine chaser, SC 65X, out into the English Channel to hunt for German U-boats in the midst of the worst winter in more than fifty years. Their achievements climax with the sinking of a German submarine and taking sixteen of her crew prisoner.When the war ends on 11 November 1918, the chaser crews expect to return home, but their exposure to danger is by no means concluded. Instead, the chasers are tasked with exploding the 70,000 dangerous mines planted in the North Sea Mine Barrage. Having survived the war, will Ben and his crew survive the peace?Trade ReviewIt is a tribute to the author’s narrative skill that he holds the reader’s interest to the very last sentence. * ARGunners.com *
£20.25
The New York Review of Books, Inc My Friends
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Nimbus Publishing Limited The History of Rain
Book Synopsis
£16.53
Hesperus Press The Tale
Book Synopsis
£14.36
InkBlots Press War in the Wasteland
Book Synopsis
£14.24
Tin House Books More Miracle Than Bird
£20.76
Tin House Books More Miracle Than Bird
Book Synopsis
£15.26
