The Middle Parts of Fortune: Somme and Ancre, 1916 - Softcover

Manning, Frederic

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857065963 ISBN 13: 9780857065964

Publisher: LEONAUR, 2011

Synopsis

A classic story of men in the trenches

Frederic Manning, the author of this book, which is also known as Her Privates We, was a well regarded Australian writer and poet who settled in the United Kingdom in the early years of the 20th century. He moved in bohemian circles and was frail in health and a heavy smoker despite suffering from asthma. He was nevertheless keen to enlist when war came in 1914 and predictably had some difficulty persuading the Army to accept him. In 1915, however, he managed to enlist in the Shropshire Light Infantry as a private soldier. He failed his officer training course. In 1916 he took part in the battle of the Somme and proved himself an able NCO. Subsequently he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment where he proved to be unsuccessful officer material. His combat experiences, inebriation and poor health had taken their toll and he resigned his commission in 1918. Manning continued writing, producing poetry, novels and non fiction. This book, originally published anonymously, is based on Manning's authentic wartime experiences, but it is a novel. Its principal character, Bourne was named after a small English town where Manning had spent much of his time. The Middle Parts of Fortune is now considered to be one of the few true classic of the literature of war and tells the story, in the starkest terms, of ordinary men enduring the privations and dangers of the Western Front during the Great War.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

About this title

Product Description:

The Middle Parts of Fortune A classic story of men in the trenches Frederic Manning, the author of this book, which is also known as Her Privates We, was a well regarded Australian writer and poet who settled in the United Kingdom in the early years of the 20th century. He moved in bohemian circles and was frail in health and a heavy smoker despite suffering from asthma. He was nevertheless keen to enlist when war came in 19... Full description

Review:

"It is the finest and noblest book of men in war that I have ever read. I read it over once each year to remember how things really were so that I will never lie to myself nor to anyone else about them" (Ernest Hemingway)

"The most truthful and profound exploration of the experiences of war...is to be found in The Middle Parts Of Fortune... Manning explored the moral ambiguities of war in the language of the men with whom he served. He articulated the suffering and comradeship of men who might have no other literary record" (Guardian)

"Realism and art combined" (Sydney Morning Herald)

"Manning's literary masterpiece" (Sydney Morning Herald)

"Without doubt the greatest British novel of the war" (Independent)

About this edition

• Publisher: LEONAUR
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0857065963
• ISBN 13: 9780857065964
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 260