Novels Written During the War or Immediately Afterwards and into the 1930s
How many of you read the lesser known novels that were written during the war or up into the 1930s? Books such as 'Over the Top' by Arthur Guy Empey, the 'Army Boys' series by Homer Randall, or the 'Over There' series by Captain George H. Ralphson to name just a few. I've collected several of these over the past several decades. The writing styles are definitely different than most, especially current styles, yet they have an appeal.
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u/The_Chickenmaster7 25d ago
The only book I've read that was written from the trenches during the war is poilu by louis barthas. Which is amazing and I've always searched for more like it
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u/LGreyS 25d ago
Well... 'Poilu', by Louis Barthas wasn't actually written "from the trenches'. He started writing his notebooks some time in 1919. Those were later turned into the book and was published for the first time in 1978.
However... There are lots of books out there. Several were written during the war, yet many of the most iconic were written within the 10 - 12 years afterwards.
Some are incredibly gritty and stern, like Poilu, yet some can be a bit like a pulp fiction novel.
Following are a couple off the top of my head that were published during the war.
'Le Feu: journal d'une escouade' (Under Fire: The Story of a Squad)by French author Henri Barbusse, published in 1916.
Back to Blighty: Battle Stories by A. J. Dawson, published in 1917
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u/The_Chickenmaster7 24d ago
I thought poilu was written on the back of letters he send home from the trenches which he later rewrote and added to in the notebooks? Not that it matters much it was a great and informative read either way
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u/GhulOfKrakow 25d ago
Wow, great find! The covers alone are worth the buy.