Description
Book SynopsisOne of the great World War I antiwar novels - honest, chilling, and brilliantly satirical
Based on the author''s experiences on the Western Front, Richard Aldington''s first novel, Death of a Hero, finally joins the ranks of Penguin Classics. Our hero is George Winterbourne, who enlists in the British Expeditionary Army during the Great War and gets sent to France. After a rash of casualties leads to his promotion through the ranks, he grows increasingly cynical about the war and disillusioned by the hypocrisies of British society. Aldington''s writing about Britain''s ignorance of the tribulations of its soldiers is among the most biting ever published. Death of a Hero vividly evokes the morally degrading nature of combat as it rushes toward its astounding finish.
About the author:
Richard Aldington (1892-1962) was known as a translator, critic, biographer, and poet of distinction. He joined the British Army in 1916 and was wounded in 1918.
Trade Review"[
Death of a Hero] takes its place among the half dozen superb stories of the war that will not let men forget.” —
The Nation“
Death of a Hero is a book impossible to ignore.” —
Arnold Bennett“This novel is an undervalued war novel treasure by a pioneering 20th-century literary figure. The quality of writing about the war should rank this novel among the classics about World War I warfare and even for all time.” —
James H. Meredith
