Category: Books

Publisher’s Description:’In this extraordinarily powerful and diverse selection of diaries, letters and memories, the testament from ordinary people whose lives were transformed are set alongside extracts from names that have become synonymous with the war, such as Siegfried Sassoon and T.E. Lawrence. A Broken World is an original collection of personal and defining moments that offer an unprecedented insight into the Great War as it was experienced and as it was remembered.’

Publisher’s Description:’First published in London in 1930, Not So Quiet… (on the Western Front) describes a group of British women ambulance drivers on the French front lines during World War I, surviving shell fire, cold, and their punishing commandant, “Mrs. Bitch.” The novel takes the guise of an autobiography by Smith, pseudonym for Evadne Price.’

Publisher’s Description:’The Great War: The People’s Story is both a meticulously researched piece of narrative history and a deeply moving remembrance of the extraordinary acts of extremely ordinary people.’

Publisher’s Description:’Ireland, 1916. The Irish nationalists are preparing to fight for their freedom from the British. Lydia Fitzgerald, a Protestant land-owner, will play a crucial role in the war – and all for her German lover.’

Centenary News Review:’Nursing Through Shot and Shell is a fascinating if harrowing read. It details the stark and unembellished experiences of a nurse on the front lines. Thanks to Vivien Newman’s introduction Hopkinson’s experiences are set against the history of nursing at war, which adds further depth and interest to an already enthralling book. Beatrice Hopkinson survived her service and, after her demobilization, emigrated to Canada to marry Dr Charles Aylen whom she met at the front – a happy ending for someone who gave so much.’

Publisher’s Description:’On Platform One of Paddington Station in London, there is a statue of an unknown soldier; he’s reading a letter. On the hundredth anniversary of the declaration of war everyone in the country was invited to take a moment and write that letter. A selection of those letters are published here, in a new kind of war memorial – one made only of words.’

Publisher’s Description:’September 1919:20 year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver some letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian’s brother Will during the Great War but in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield, declared himself a conscientious objector and was shot as a traitor, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family.But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan’s visit. He holds a secret deep in his soul. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage.’

Publisher’s Description:’Hailed as a masterpiece on its original publication in 1921, Three Soldiers is a gripping exploration of fear and ambition, conformity and rebellion, desertion and violence, and the brutal and dehumanizing effects of a regimented war machine on ordinary soldiers.’