William: An Englishman by Cicely Mary Hamilton (Review)

William: An Englishman by Cicely Mary Hamilton

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Blurb

A naive couple, full of indignation at the state of Britain before the First World War, honeymoon in France and get overtaken by the onset of the war. It’s a rude awakening. The author served in France during the war, and wrote this whilst the war raged around her.

Review

I love Persephone Books and I have a dream that one day I will manage to read the entire collection! I suspect I won’t manage it but I live in hope.

I really enjoyed this book and I would have happily read it in just two or three sittings but it took me slightly longer because I read it during my daughters morning naps.

William is a social activist but he didn’t find this path by himself and sadly he only parrots the opinions of others and never comes up with anything like his own opinions. During his work he meets Griselda who is also a social activist and who has done several spells in prison fighting for women’s rights. However, Griselda is also like William and only parrots the options of others and never forms her own opinion. They believe themselves heroic and fighting for the good of many but they never sacrifice anything and only rant and rave in front of people who agree with them. Unexpectedly they find themselves in the middle of WWI and their worlds are turned upside down.

Hamilton gently makes fun of William and Griselda. She mocks their activism and their idealism in the beginning of the novel. However, as the book progresses you start to only feel sympathy for Griselda and William. They are victims of war and Hamilton shows anger towards the people who started it.

I enjoyed this book because it was a wonderful eye opener into what life was like during WWI but it was also a harrowing read and I was brought to tears quite a few times while reading it. I really enjoyed Hamilton’s writing style and I hope to read more of her work soon. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Cicely Mary Hamilton (born Hammill), was an English author and co-founder of the Women Writers’ Suffrage League.

She is best remembered for her plays which often included feminist themes. Hamilton’s World War I novel “William – An Englishman” was reprinted by Persephone Books in 1999.

She was a friend of EM Delafield and was portrayed as Emma Hay in “A Provincial Lady Goes Further.”

Etsy

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The Tenth Man by Graham Greene (Review)

The Tenth Man by Graham Greene

Blurb

In a prison in Occupied France one in every ten men is to be shot. The prisoners draw lots among themselves—and for rich lawyer Louis Chavel it seems that his whole life has been leading up to an agonising and crucial failure of nerve. Graham Greene wrote The Tenth Man in 1944, when he was under a two-year contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the manuscript lay forgotten in MGM’s archives until 1983. It was published two years later.

Review

This book originated from a lost manuscript of Greene’s that turned up in an MGM sale. The person who purchased the manuscript returned it to Greene and he turned it into a novel which was published in 1985.

This is a short book but one that really packs a punch. The book begins with a prison in occupied France and the news that every tenth man is to be shot. The prisoners are left to decide amongst themselves who will be shot, so they decide to draw lots. The rich lawyer Louis Chavel’s nerve leaves him and he gives up everything to the man who will take his place.

Janvier is the man who takes Chavel’s place so he leaves all his new wealth to his sister and mother. When Chavel finally leaves the prison he has nothing to his name but he is still drawn to life he once had and so makes his way to his old home where he finds Janvier’s sister and mother.

The book looks at the final years of the Second World War and how even the best of men can change in dire times. It is a story of cowardice, guilt, courage, romance and much more. Those who lie are trusted and those who tell the truth are not believed, everything is turned on its head in this book.

I must admit the ending of the book was not what I expected and came as a big shock but it did show that miracles do happen. I will be honest as much as I love Greene’s books this book did not really enthral me that much as I just did not like the character of Chavel very much so I only give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Henry Graham Greene (1904-1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded as one of the leading English novelists of the20th century.

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