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This novel was first published in 1930. It is based on the author’s own experiences in the trenches. It tells the story of the First World War through the eyes of a young Canadian soldier from the time he was a recruit in Montreal to the time he was invalided to England in 1918.
This book does not have the conventional story line of the usual novel. Instead it illustrates the War through an isolated series of snapshots.
It shows life at the Front in the trenches where these young boys suffered cold, wet, hunger and the agony of bites from the multitude of lice as well as the terror and fear of bombardment. The reader is given an insight into the feelings of the young Canadian when he kills a young German and does not understand why. As well as the disgust and revulsion of the narrator when he is sent to London on leave and hears the music hall jokes about the War. And when he listens in silence to the curate talking of the splendid spirit of the men while he remembers the reality of men fighting over a crust of bread.
The reader is also shown the desperate ways in which these young boys coped with the horrors all around them. They marched through the French countryside singing the songs we all know so well from the annual Festival of Remembrance. But the words are rather different –– ribald and obscene. Then the dissolute way in which some indulged in the so-called periods of ‘rest’ behind the lines. But these were only the ways in which these young men tried to preserve their sanity.
The book is told purely from the point of view of the privates. The officers did not have to suffer the pain of feet rubbed raw by ill fitting boots. And generals did not die in the trenches.
In many ways this is more of an adult book than one for children. But the publishers point out that it is an essential read for GCSE history students.
This book shows the First World War as it really was without any attempt to lessen the horrors. Told in the first person and in the present tense which brings a sense of immediacy to the scene.
14+
This book is written around a true series of events. In Portsmouth at the beginning of the First World War there were several murders of working women. These murders received little coverage in the newspapers of the time and there are no reports of them ever being solved.
But John Sedden offers a possible solution -- and it is a very plausible one. He suggests that the murders were commited by some of the many soldiers and sailors present in Portsmouth at the time. And they were covered up because the authorities thought it would be bad for morale if it was known that brave Tommies and bluejackets were murdering townspeople. So the police did not look for the men responsible. They just kept it quiet.
That is the background. Now for the story. The two main characters are two fatherless boys Jimmy and Reg. They are two of the mudlarks -- the boys who entertained visitors to Portsmouth by trying to find coins thrown for them into the mud of Portsmouth Harbour. (This is also founded on fact as boys like this operated in the Portsmouth mud from Victorian times until the middle of last century).
Then one day Reg finds a skull. It is not reported in the newspapers until later after the coroner's report. The skull belonged to Poll, one of Jimmy's mother's friends and it is claimed that she committed suicide. But Jimmy's mother is convinced that Poll would never commit suicide and Jimmy starts to probe to find out the truth. This brings him to the attention of the police. When he refuses to be warned off they discover that he, along with Reg, was responsible for the theft of several policeman's boots. They also accuse Jimmy and Reg of other crimes and the two boys are sentenced to long terms in prison. But there is an alternative and they are drafted into the Army. They are only fourteen but then their births have never been registered. Even this does not stop Jimmy and his investigations could lead to a charge of treason and the death penalty.
All this is played out against the background of the poorest part of Portsmouth at the beginning of the First World War. There is the main form of entertainment, the visits to the cinema to see Charlie Chaplin. There are the descriptions of Jop, the one legged man who sells the daily newspaper. Then, on a more serious note, there is the arrest of all the harmless aliens like the man who kept the local sweet shop and the relentless early military training of Jimmy and Reg.
I feel that in many ways this is more of an adult book. True there is nothing specific but it is still quite clear who the murdered women were. The coroner says that Poll was a woman of 'known disreputable and dissolute habits.' Jimmy's own mother works in a pub as a barmaid and that way she makes a lot of friends. When Jimmy comes home he always looks to see if the flag is up because that means that his mother has a visitor and he has to wait until the flag comes down again.
Although nothing explicit the subject matter and very nature of the book put it very near to the adult category.
Told in the first person by Jimmy in the sometimes rather coarse language of a street urchin.
14+
This book was first published in 1982 and has been reprinted many times since.
Albert has cared for Joey ever since he was brought to the farm as a six month old foal. There is a very special bond between them. Then one day Albert's father sells Joey to the Army. Joey is trained and taken to France and we find that the horrors of the First World War were as bad for horses as they were for men. Joey takes part in an old fashioned cavalry charge and escapes shrapnel and bullets. He pulls ambulances, guns and veterinary wagons. He has to endure poor food and having to stay out in all weathers. Finally he gets tetanus from barbed wire.
Now we know only too well all about the dreadful carnage of the First World War when the various governments of Europe betrayed and sacrificed a whole generation. This book tells that story from a different perspective - from that of the many horses who were conscripted into the struggle. For me, personally, that made the book even more poignant as I am very much of an animal person. I found one of the worst parts near the end when, at the end of the War many of the horses were not brought back to Britain but auctioned off to French butchers. That made me really angry.
The general effect is softened slightly by the fact that the story is told in the first person -- by Joey the horse, so we know right from the start that Joey is going to survive the War.
This book clearly and vividly brings out the futility and horror of war. It is emotive, sensitive and thought provoking. Meant for older children but would say a lot to caring and animal-loving adults too.
War Horse was runner up for the Whitbread award.
12 -- adult
A young girl during the First World War.
Seventeen-year-old Alexandra is the daughter of a doctor. She wants to be a nurse but her stern father is against the idea. He disapproves of her mixing with the other nurses who come from very different backgrounds. Moreover he is firmly opposed to respectable women working outside the home in any case. However he eventually agrees that Alexandra can go and help out in the local hospital.
Alexandra has one extraordinary talent. Ever since she has been a little girl she has been able to look at someone and know if they are to die soon. But she is not allowed to mention this because it makes her father very angry.
Edgar, Alexandra’s older brother gets a commission and is sent to France. Then Edgar is killed –– and Alexandra knows before anyone else. Tom, Alexandra’s younger brother has been studying to be a doctor but when he hears about Edgar he abandons his studies saying that there is no use in it, enlists as a private and is sent to France. Alexandra sees that he is killed too. But his death is not to happen for some time yet. In this case is there anything which she can do to save him? Is the future which she sees really inevitable?
Alexandra steals the uniform and papers of a VAD nurse who is about to go to France. But how can Alexandra hope to find her brother among the turmoil of thye trenches? Also she is impersonating another nurse. What will happen if she is found out? Could she even be accused of being a spy?
But Alexandra finds help from an unexpected quarter.
In this book the carnage and bloodshot of the trenches are described from an unusual angle. And the character of Alexandra’s father also gives a good picture of opinion in England at this time with firm ideas about the role of women and also about young men doing ‘their bit.’
A highly original and effective book about the First World War.
Young adult
It is 1917. Ted Foley is a ship's boy aboard the HMS Nomad. Ted is only fourteen but he has lied about his age and he claims to be 15. The Nomad is in action at the Battle of Jutland and is sunk. Ted is picked up by a German torpedo boat and he is taken to Brandenburg POW camp.
The reader is given a detailed account of the day to day life in the camp. Food is always sparse. In winter the weather is vicious. The tap is frozen and Ted has to gather snow in a bucket and melt it on the stove. But Ted still manages to keep himself busy with navigation classes and his wood carving where he is making a model of his father's fishing boat. In summer when conditions are better there is cricket and bowling and outside work parties.
But we are also shown the grimmer side of Brandenburg Camp. One night the Germans brought in a party of Russians. Most of them found their way to one of the huts but one did not. He spent the night under a hut and in the morning he died of frostbite and hypothermia.
Another time a prisoner tries to climb the boundary wire. He only wants to pick a primrose but the German guards fire at him and he is killed.
Despite everything, some of the prisoners still try to make things difficult for the Germans. A working party has to plant cabbages. The prisoners introduce caterpillars into the field.
There is an old mill at the farm, and tied to a jetty on the river is an old boat. This gives Ted a daring idea. It has always been assumed that escape from Brandenburg Camp is impossible but Ted has often thought about it. Now he has a definite plan. Highly dangerous but perhaps just possible.
The descriptions of Brandenburg Camp are so realistic and lifelike that readers can feel that they are actually there. This is hardly surprising as POW is based on the exploits of the author's grandfather, Chief Petty Officer George Pankhurst, who is actually brought into the book. On board the Nomad George Pankhurst is the Leading Signalman on board. He is also the leading hand on Ted's mess deck. He is shipwrecked with Ted and taken with him to Brandenburg Camp. After the War he is promoted.
On the back cover of the book there is a photograph of boy prisoners in Brandenburg Camp. The photograph is the copyright of George Pankhurst.
Martin Booth has dedicated this book to his memory.
This is a gripping story with an authentic background but the fact that it is based on the memories of an actual prisoner makes it something far, far more than just an adventure story.
There is a useful glossary at the back.
11+
A story of the First World War told largely,
but not entirely from the feminine point of view, with the heartache
of those who had to wait in dread for the latest news from the
Front.
The first part of the book is told from the point of view of Charlotte,
daughter of the Big House in the village of Stratharden just outside
Edinburgh. Despite her mother's remonstrances that it is not quite
respectable Charlotte becomes a Red Cross Nurse. After all in
1914 ideas about what is and is not respectable are rapidly changing.
The early chapters of the book show the development of Charlotte's
nursing progress from her early days in the local hospital to
a big military hospital in Edinburgh. There is also her incipient
romance with John Malcolm, the son of the owner of the village
general store. Then John Malcolm enlists, goes to France and is
killed almost before he realises what it is all about.
After this the emphasis changes slightly and the centre stage
is now occupied by John Malcolm's sister Maggie. She is eager
to do more than just work in her father's shop and she goes to
Edinburgh to work in a munitions factory -- where she has her
eyes opened to life beyond her conservative little village. Maggie
also becomes better acquainted with Charlotte's elder brother
Francis, a quiet youth interested in painting and who has doubts
about whether the War is justified. Maggie listens to him and
understands his ideas even if she does not always understand them.
In this way a bond is forged between them. Then Francis enlists
and goes to France where he writes long letters home to Maggie.
Shortly after this Maggie sees a book about treating war wounds.
She suddenly realises the terrible effects of the shells she makes
in the factory and she decides that she no longer wants any part
in it. She leaves the factory and joins Charlotte as a nurse.
Later they both go to France where Maggie finds she has a flair
for administration.
Although Charlotte and Maggie are the central characters the carnage
and dreadful conditions of the trenches are brought out in the
letters Francis writes. The endless slaughter, the wasted countryside,
the mud and lice of the trenches -- it is all there even if it
is at a distance.
Apart from the War, this book touches on other aspects. The old
social system is breaking up. After the War class divisions will
never mean as much as they did before, thus making it easier for
Maggie and Francis to marry in the future. Also, workers are beginning
to think of their rights and women are becoming more independent.
At the end of the book Maggie is determined to get an education
for herself and find work in a library.
The characters are particularly well
drawn. There is Charlotte with her deceptive strength, always
calm and caring in the face of terrible suffering, Maggie with
her determination to find a new role for herself, Maggie's brothers
John Malcolm and Alex with their boyish eagerness to go and fight,
and Francis with his many doubts and questions.
The title "Remembrance" is mirrored in the last chapter
where there is a memorial service round the new War Memorial where
they all think about the large loss the small village has sustained.
Extremely thought provoking.
12 to adult
This is a sequel to When the Guns fall Silent.
It begins with a description of the shooting of Nurse Cadell.
Then the scene changes to Portsmouth and the last day at school for the Norton twins Dorothy and Florence – or Doss and Floss. After leaving school they both start work in a munitions factory but Floss wants to be a nurse and she soon leaves to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment. She is accepted but she has to pass a hard test first. She is made to help with an operation –– an amputation.
Meanwhile Doss continues to work in the munitions factory. It is dangerous work and some of the women workers are killed and others horribly maimed when there is an explosion. Also the chemicals used are toxic and the workers are being slowly poisoned. But Doss’s mother needs the money as she has ten children. Her husband and eldest son are both at the front and the rent collector keeps raising the rent.
But times are changing. There are the suffragettes and there are also rent strikes. Things will never be the same again.
This book has a very strong anti-war message. The twins’ father is sent home suffering from shell shock. If he recovers he will probably be shot for cowardice. But he commits suicide in a horrible way first. And, as a suicide, he is not allowed to be buried in the main part of the cemetery.
Floss is eventually sent to France where she sees at first hand the carnage and futility of the War. She is taken prisoner by the Germans when she drives her ambulance trying to find medical supplies. The Germans set her to work tending their own wounded and also British prisoners of war –– where she meets her own brother Jack. Floss helps him to escape. Will she suffer the same fate as Nurse Cadell?
There is a verse from a contemporary poem or song at the beginning of every chapter. There is also a map of the French campaigns.
This book really brings home to the reader the horrors, waste and futility of the First World War.
Powerful and emotional.
12+
This is the second book in the trilogy about Swallowcliffe Hall, the large country house, the family who live in it and the servants who look after them. This second volume is told in the first person by Grace, the daughter of Polly the maid in the first book. We soon learn that Polly married the footman William. But William is now coachman at the Hall and Grace’s parents live in the gatehouse. Grace herself now lives in the Hall where she is working in the kitchen. But this does not suit her. She would far rather be helping her father in the stables.
And she soon gets her chance to do just that. For this is the time of the First World War and great changes are taking place. All the young men are away fighting and their jobs have to be done by women. Grace’s sister Ivy gets a job on a London omnibus. Eventually Grace’s mother becomes housekeeper at the Hall –– a position which would never been held by a married woman before. And the Hall is turned into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers.
More mundane changes are not neglected –– as when Grace’s father learns to drive one of the new motor cars.
Even although all the action takes place in and around Swallowcliffe Hall events in France are still brought home to the reader. There are extracts from contemporary newspapers and also of soldiers’ letters at the beginning of every chapter. Then the war touches the people of the Hall. A servant girl loses her sweetheart while one of the family has both his legs shot off. Grace’s brother Tom enlists and sends letters home to her. Then there is the devastating news that Tom is to be court martialled for cowardice. If found guilty he could be shot. In desperation Grace asks Rory to help but despite his high position in the Army will he be able to?
Then there is the sinking of the Lusitania and more tragedy for the Vye family. Grace makes friends with a survivor who puts her on the track of an old mystery. Who was really the father of Iris’s baby? Polly has always been convinced that it was Rory and blames him for the death of Iris. But now Grace finds out the truth.
If it were not for this development this book would be a stand-alone but this development of an event from the first book means that this series should be read in sequence.
Shows the changes in rural life during the First World War and also reveals the horror and carnage of the fighting. Also developes the story lines from the first book.
12+
This book was first published in 1935. It was reprinted for the centenary of the birth of the author.
In 1916 Bigglesworth (or Biggles as he is usually called) enlists in the Royal Flying Corps. He is only seventeen although he has given his age as eighteen. He is sent to No. 17 Flying School and after only one week he gets his first solo flight. A week later he gets a movement order for France. He has done less than fifteen hours flying but there are heavy casualties in France and he is needed there.
Then follows an account of Biggles in France, both his flying and the friends he makes among the other airmen. The many different ways in which aeroplanes were used in the First world War is clearly brought out. Routine patrols, reconnaissance, artillery observation, aerial photography, bombing and harassing enemy artillery, landing agents behind enemy lines and picking them up again afterwards.
W.E. Johns was himself a pilot in the First World War and, as is to be expected, the background is authentic. There are detailed descriptions of the many dogfights and of the various aeroplanes such as the Sopwith Pup, the Sopwith Camel, the Bristol Fighter and many more.
But attitudes and styles of writing have changed greatly since this book was first published. "Biggles learns to Fly" is a boys' adventure story with a comprehensive background. But the true horrors of the First World War are not brought out in the forceful way of most modern books. Death is accepted and brushed aside. While still at flying school Biggles sees a plane crash. The flight sergeant just says,
A nasty one sir ... We killed seven here last week."
Throughout the book casualties are accepted in this offhand manner. When an enemy plane is seen crashing to the ground it is easy to forget that a man is plunging to his death.
But when Harris, who is acting as Biggles' gunner, is killed on his very first flight in France, Biggles is thrown into a frenzy, and near the end Biggles is devastated by the death of his former squadron leader and the dreadful wounding of his gunner.
This book shows the front put up by the teenage pilots but does not probe behind that front. But the horror is there even if it is glossed over.
Biggles learns to Fly is useful for the detailed information about early planes but should be read in conjunction with some of the modern books on the First World War.
10 +
This book was first published in 1939. It was reprinted in 1993, the centenary of the birth of Captain Johns, along with many of the other Biggles books. Biggles and the Rescue Flight is about the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War.
A public schoolboy, Peter Fortymore ("Thirty") hears that his brother is reported missing believed dead. He at once concocts a crazy plan to rescue him. Thirty and his friend have been breaking out of the school in the early morning and learning to fly. Now the two boys run away. They go to Thirty's home and take the uniforms of Thirty's brother, then steal two planes and fly to France and report to the Recording Officer at an airfield. They hope that it will be assumed that their papers have been lost. The mad scheme works and they are assigned to Biggles.
They tell Biggles of their plan to rescue Thirty's brother and Biggles thinks it might work and the Rescue Flight is born. Planes are flown to Germany to rescue British escaped prisoners of war and Thirty and his friend are members of the Rescue Flight. But Thirty also finds himself involved in even more dangerous missions than that.
As is to be expected in a book written so long ago, the writing is very different from that of books about the First World War which are being published now. The terrible carnage and waste of life is mentioned but is not brought home to the reader as forcibly as it is in modern books. At the beginning Thirty's headmaster actually breaks down when he mentions all the boys from his school who have been killed. But apart from that incident the carnage the War does not actually touch Thirty.
The picture given is of the front presented by the teenage pilots but there is little effort made to probe their inner feelings. But Thirty is constantly in danger - not only of being killed in his aeroplane, but of being shot by the Germans if captured because he is actually a civilian in uniform as he has not been gazetted. And towards the end Thirty begins to realise what war really means.
"He felt the relentlessness of it - the ruthlessness, the waste, the cruelty,the incredible folly of it."
The book is also very strong on the technical side. The aeroplanes are all described in great detail, as is the flying and the "dog-fights." This is to be expected as Captain Johns was himself a pilot in the First World War.
This book may gloss over the carnage of the First World War but, nevertheless, it has its own contribution to make to the literature of the First World War. It may be written in the stiff upper lip style but schoolboys did lie about their ages so that could join up - just like Thirty and his friend.
Although the background is authentic Biggles and the Rescue Flight should be read in conjunction with some of the modern books to give a more balanced picture of the horrific events of the years 1914-1918.
10+
This book charts the life of Jack Fairfax from his last day at school in July 1915 to the end of the First World War.
Jack is from a wealthy country family with a military tradition of serving with the Greys. But when he leaves school he wants to become a pilot. When he tells his father he is furious. He considers aeroplanes to be toys. The place for a Fairfax to be is at the forefront of the action not skulking in the skies. However he eventually agrees to let Jack try to join the Royal Flying Corps.
With his best friend Alan Dixon, Jack first goes to a private flying school at Hendon for three weeks and the reader is given a detailed picture of what it was like to fly one of the early aeroplanes. Then on to the RFC flying school at Farnborough and then advanced training at Upavon. In this chapter there is plenty of information about the different types of aircraft at the time –– such as the Sopwith Strutter, the Vickers Gunbus, the De Havilland Scout and the German Fokker.
Then France. Jack and Alan find out that their main task is to protect the observation aircraft which are used for photographing the enemy positions. There are detailed descriptions of aerial battles and tactics. There is even a fictional equivalent of the Red Baron. The high casualty rate among young pilots is made painfully clear.
Although this book is about the war in the air the trenches are not neglected entirely as Jack sees something of them when he is shot down. Also his elder brother Oswald eventually succumbs to shell shock.
This book also brings out the general attitudes of the time with Jack’s father unable to understand the mental illness of his elder son and the young pilots unable to discuss the deaths of their comrades because they might undermine morale. So all they were able to say is that someone has ‘bought it.’
Although very informative this story is also told with great sensitivity and we really care what happens to Jack and Alan. Comes with historical notes, a timeline and contemporary photographs.
10-14
This book is set in the Welsh village of Nantgraig on the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen railway line at the beginning of the First World War.
Ten year Owen Morgan is always missing school because he has a bad chest and a cough. His eighteen year old cousin Will knows of an unsual cure for a cough. It is to go into the railway tunnel and stand in the niche and wait for a train to pass. The smoke from the train will cure the cough. Owen finds it a frightening experience but the knowledge he gains about the tunnel later helps him to save a life.
Owen wonders why Will is in such a hurry to make him better. He soon finds out. On Monday Will is going to enlist in the Welsh Regiment and go and "settle the Kaiser."
Monday morning comes. Will goes off to enlist and Owen goes to school. Owen is being persecuted by his teacher Mr Parry who pokes fun at him, sneers at him and gives him the stick. Mr Parry even tries to have Owen excluded from the school.
Then Howell the blacksmith, a leader in the village, decides to get involved. He says that Parry is picking on Owen because Will has enlisted and Parry's own son Griffith is a coward who is hiding in his college in Carmathen. Howell marshalls the villagers and they march on the school and Parry.
This is the kind of book which can be read on different levels and will mean different things to different people. I read it with my adult knowledge of what was going to happen to Will. All the time I was contrasting the quiet Welsh village with the horror of the trenches. And Ypres and Passendaele. The part where the villagers were chasing Griffith screaming "Coward" filled me with horror. How I wished that Griffith Parry had stayed in his Carmathen college instead of enlisting. Reading this book actually upset me quite a lot.
But children? This book is designed to be used in schools to supplement the National Curriculum History syllabus and what it will mean to children will depend on exactly how much detail the teacher goes into about the First World War.
This book really brings home the spirit of the opening months of the First World War and the idea that it would be all over before Christmas. It shows clearly how the country's young men were pressurised, tricked and bullied into enlisting. That it is set in a small Welsh village actually makes it worse.
Many people will dismiss this as a "little children's book." Personally I found it poignant and heart-rending.
9+
A story about the past with a message
for the present.
This story is told in the first person by an old lady of ninety-
five looking back over her life. The parts set in the present
are in italics.
The flashbacks go back to when Sarah is growing up in a little
fishing village in Devon during the First World War. One day she
is with her friend John Mingo when he goes after birds' eggs and
falls from the cliff. He is saved by Julian, an airman who has
lost an arm. After this Sarah sees more of Julian and gets him
to tell her about the War.
But this book is not just about the suffering and carnage of the
First World War. It has another theme, a conservation theme. Sarah
lives in the village of Hallsands, which has a shingle beach.
But shingle is needed for the new docks at Plymouth and dredgers
are seen from the village. John's father says that the dredging
will lower Hallsands beach and the village will be flooded. He
takes the matter up with his Member of Parliament and the dredging
is stopped -- but too late to save the village. The destruction
of Hallsands provides the dramatic climax of the book and Julian
and Sarah both play an important part.
Throughout there are also little touches about the social structure
of the time. Sarah and Julian cannot become real friends because
of the social gap between them.
The story is fictional but the destruction of Hallsands really
happened and there is a historical note to this effect.
This is a well written story about England in the First World
War with the added dimension of the conservation theme.
But I did rather wonder about the intended age group of the potential
readers. Ostensibly it is probably aimed at the eight to twelve
age group but I did have the odd doubt about the device of an
old lady looking back. And the content and ideas are really for
any age.
Extremely thought provoking.
8-12
Out of Print
This is a sequel to A Question of Courage, which is about the suffragettes. Emily and Louise, two girls from completely different backgrounds, are drawn together by their work for the Suffragette movement. Emily is from the back streets of Birmingham but Louise is from a well off middle class family.
A Rose from Blighty begins with Louise lying in her prison cell, weak and ill from a hunger strike. A warder comes and tells her that she is about to be released. All suffragettes are being released because the War has started.
Louise goes home. She wants to do war work but first she has to get her strength back. She helps out in a station canteen for soldiers arriving off a hospital train. Later she uses her car as a makeshift ambulance to take wounded soldiers to hospital. Then she has an idea. She is living in London with an aunt since the death of her father. But the large house in Birmingham has been left jointly to Louise and her brother Peter (who is in France with the Royal Flying Corps). Louise decides to open up the Birmingham house again and use it as a hospital.
Emily comes to work there as a kind of general dogsbody but she does not get on with the matron. She resigns and goes to London where she becomes a VAD Red Cross nurse. After a spell in London she is accepted for duty in France. Louise also goes to France - as an ambulance driver - and their paths cross once again.
Conditions in the French military hospitals are starkly portrayed. The shortages, the long hours worked by the nurses, (at times for lunch Emily just has time to snatch a sandwich as she carries on working), the futility and waste of young men killed outright or maimed for life. The mindless cruelty by which a teenage boy can be shot for desertion. And even for the nurses there is tragedy and danger as the hospital is bombed in an air raid.
But the horrors of the War apart, this book has another dimension. Despite everything the English class system still holds sway. At first Emily is not accepted as a nurse because she is not from the right background. And Louise resents her friendship with her brother Peter, although she eventually comes to realise the folly of such snobbery.
The book ends shortly before the end of the War. Emily and Louise resolve their differences and they both find happiness.
The title comes from a song of the time about the Rose of No Man's Land. This Rose was the Red Cross Nurse.
A Rose from Blighty helps to show the important part women played in the First World War.
Teenage.
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