Death of a Hero

(Paperback)

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Acclaimed poet Richard Aldington based his first novel on his own experiences on the Western Front during World War I. It tells the story of George Winterbourne, who enlists in the British Army and is sent to France. One of the great World War I antiwar novels-honest, chilling, and brilliantly satirical Based on the author's experiences on the Western Front, Richard Aldington's first novel,Death of a Hero, finally joins the ranks of Penguin Classics. Our hero is George Winterbourne, who enlists in the British Expeditionary Army during the Great War and gets sent to France. After a rash of casualties leads to his promotion through the ranks, he grows increasingly cynical about the war and disillusioned by the hypocrisies of British society. Aldington's writing about Britain's ignorance of the tribulations of its soldiers is among the most biting ever published.Death of a Herovividly evokes the morally degrading nature of combat as it rushes toward its astounding finish. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators.

Reviews

"[Death of a Hero] takes its place among the half dozen superb stories of the war that will not let men forget. The Nation

Death of a Hero is a book impossible to ignore. Arnold Bennett

This novel is an undervalued war novel treasure by a pioneering 20th-century literary figure. The quality of writing about the war should rank this novel among the classics about World War I warfare and even for all time. James H. Meredith

Author Bio

Richard Aldington(1892-1962) was known as a translator, critic, biographer, and poet of distinction. He joined the British Army in 1916 and was wounded in 1918. James H. Meredith, a retired United States Air Force lieutenant colonel, is the introducer of the Penguin Classics editions ofPaths of Gloryby Humphrey Cobb andBombs Awayby John Steinbeck.