Her Privates We

by Frederic Manning

Book Overview

"The finest and noblest book of men and war that I have ever read."--Ernest Hemingway

"I am sure it is the book of books so far as the British Army is concerned."--Lawrence of Arabia

"A unique and extraordinary novel"--William Boyd

First published privately in 1929 as The Middle Parts of Fortune, Her Privates We is the novel of the Battle of the Somme told from the perspective of Bourne, an ordinary private. A raw and shockingly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 184668787X
• ISBN13: 9781846687877
• Release Date: November 2013
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

"War . . . is a peculiarly human activity."

For almost seventy years, this book was only readily found in an 'expurgated' version--that is, an abridged edition published first in 1929. Manning originally published his novel privately, but when it was introduced to the public (anonymously in the first editions), his editors felt that the language was too crude and for the genteel reading public and cut the book down to fit the day's standards. It is only now that we can appreciate the true power and honesty of a book that has been overlooked for too long.Her Privates We is not a story of war so much as it is the story of men involved in that war--it is only in the final chapters that any real battle scenes take place. For the majority of the book, we are treated to an account of the life of Private Bourne (Manning himself in a literary disguise) during the five months of the Battle of the Somme (July-November, 1916), one of the most tragic and deadliest battles of World War One. To really explain the plot would be to give away the true experience of reading the book, but I guarantee, there is no account of World War One that can be compared to this work. It is unique and as relevant today as it was in 1929. There is no attempt at hero-worship or empty patriotism in Manning's work. He telling the story of a group of men trapped in a world for which they were never prepared, and their humanity shines through it all. Their language is coarse, their opinions of the war, women, their fellow soldiers differ, but ultimately, they are all in the same Hell and are bonded together in a desperate hope of survival. Manning's is one of the few War works that does not follow the Victorian pattern for novels (hence why it is seldom mentioned in reviews of war literature). He is not trying to help his readers escape, but rather forcing them to face the reality they had created.It is clear, even in his prose, that Manning was a skilled poet. Throughout the novel, there are flashes of beauty in the writing itself: "She knew nothing of their subterranean, furtive, twilight life, the limbo through which, with their obliterated humanity, they moved as so many unhoused ghosts, or the aching hunger in those hands that reached, groping tentatively out of their emptiness, to seek some hope or stay."As well as humor. After a paticularily confused conversation with a French woman with whom they have been billeted, Bourne's superior complains to him: "I wish to God I knew a bit o' French" said the corporal earnestly."I wish to God you wouldn't mix the little you do know with Hindustanti," said Bourne.The incredible humanity in this book has seldom been paralleled, even in modern literature. Manning's genuis has been overlooked for too long and it is time that his masterpiece was rediscovered to teach a new generation what war is really like.

There are few who die well in battle

Manning's protaginist, Bourne, wanders through this grisly narrative like a ghost. Friend of the enlisted and confidante of the sub-altern and officers, he cadges, scrounges, fights and kills in the mud, towns and trenches of WW1... Bourne is as likeable as any poet or writer is in a classroom of fellow lads, for that is what most of them were.. Yet his compassion and love for the suffering of his fellow men, though understated and pressed down here, betrays the real experiences of this little known Australian writer.. Hemingway wrote " The finest and noblest book of war that I have ever read " ..

Best Book on Men in War

This is an unsung classic. Frederic Manning published it anonymously during his lifetime, but he was a poet and essayist of some repute, and it shows in his first class writing style.The book, published ten years after the end of the First World War, runs along similar lines to the movie "Saving Private Ryan". The first chapter is stunning. We first find the hero (perhaps not quite the right word), Bourne, struggling back to British lines after a battle. You could almost be there such is the writing. Manning then gives a fantastic account of the emptiness and tension of the First World War battlefield as Bourne thinks over the days events that night.The rest of book follows Bourne and his friends out of the front lines, and through various travails as they recover from the battle, recruit new men, and prepare for an inevitable return to the trenches.If you have any interest in war, if you wish to understand what the First World War was really like -- it was not all "mud and blood" as the historians would have you believe -- this is the book for you.It is a novel, but highly autobiographical. It is therefore easy to read and credible.I give it five stars, and recommend it to all.

Her Privates We

The most moving book on warfare that I've ever read. Manning takes the reader into the trenches of WWI and through a masterful use of language shows the struggles of one young, educated Private as he endures the hardships of war. This book was formerly titled The Middle Parts of Fortune. Outstanding from cover to cover.

Most underrated novel about soldiers in WW1

This novel focuses, not so much on moral arguments, as on what the experience of trench warfare did to ordinary men. Much of it also refers to the gap between officers and men in the British army. The men knew they had been drafted into or volunteered for something very different from what they were led to believe, and did not have the luxury of arguing why. At times the prose is beautiful, but the most brilliant thing about the book, way ahead of it's time, is the capturing of the bad language and coarse behaviour of the men. These men, contrary to stereotypes, came from hugely diverse backgrounds and fought, swore, quarelled and indulged themselves just like anybody else would if thrown into such a stressful melting pot. This really brought the subject to life, and made me think how lucky I am. Few of the last survivors of WW1 are under 100 years old, and this is a unique and moving memorial to the few living survivors of the first generation subjected to modern warfare and what they endured.