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

Manning, Frederic

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849024669 ISBN 13: 9781849024662

Publisher: Benediction Classics, 2011

Synopsis

First published in 1929, it is now available as a brand new book. The story is an account of the lives of ordinary soldiers. The central character, Bourne is an enigmatic character and Manning tells his own wartime experiences through him. It is forcibly written, too forcibly for the sensibilities of the time, and a censored version was produced in 1930 under the title 'Her Privates We'.

About this title

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)

Book Description:

Set in the mud and stench of the Somme this is a grim, sardonic tale of war that led William Boyd to say ‘this is the finest novel to come out of the First World War’

About this edition

• Publisher: Benediction Classics
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1849024669
• ISBN 13: 9781849024662
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 260