y separately published work icon Action Front selected work   short story   war literature  
Issue Details: First known date: 1916... 1916 Action Front
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Notes

  • Dedication: To Mr J. A. Spender, to whose recognition and appreciation of my work, and to whose instant and eager hospitality in the Westminster Gazette so much of these war writings is due, this book is very gratefully dedicated by the Author.'
  • Author's Foreword:

    'I make no apology for having followed in this book the same plan as in my other one, Between the Lines, of taking extracts from the official despatches as "texts" and endeavoring to show something of what these brief messages cover, because so many of my own friends, and so many more unknown friends amongst the reviewers, expressed themselves so pleased with the plan that I feel its repetition is justified.

    'There were some who complained that my last book was in parts too grim and too terrible, and no doubt the same complaint may lie against this one. To that I can only reply that I have found it impossible to write with any truth of the Front without the writing being grim, and in writing my other book I felt it would be no bad thing if Home realized the grimness a little better.

    'But now there are so many at Home whose nearest and dearest are in the trenches, and who require no telling of the horrors of the war, that I have tried here to show there is a lighter side to war, to let them know that we have our relaxations, and even find occasion for jests, in the course of our business.

    'I believe, or at least hope, that in showing both sides of the picture I am doing what the Front would wish me to do. And I don't ask for any greater satisfaction than that.'

Contents

* Contents derived from the London,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
:
New York (City), New York (State),
c
United States of America (USA),
c
Americas,
:
Smith, Elder ,E. P. Dutton and Company , 1916 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
In Enemy Hands, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
Private Jock Macalister is captured by the Germans, but through luck and ingenuity is able to capture the German officer and bring him back to a British trench. His fellow soldiers torment their German prisoner but ultimately show him mercy.
A Benevolent Neutral, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
Drill, Boyd Cable , single work short story
A Night Patrol, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
The Fear of Fear, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
Anti-Aircraft, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
A Fragment, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
Author's note: 'This is not a story, it is rather a fragment, beginning where usually a battle story ends, with a man being "casualtied," showing the principal character only in a passive part - a very passive part - and ending, I am afraid, with a lot of unsatisfactory loose ends ungathered up. I only tell it because I fancy that at the back of it you may find some hint of the spirit that has helped the British Army in many a tight corner.'
An Open Town, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
The Signalers, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
Conscript Courage, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
Smashing the Counter-Attack, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
A General Action, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
At Last : When We Begin to Push, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature
As Others See, Boyd Cable , single work short story war literature

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Untitled 1916 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 7 September vol. 37 no. 1908 1916; (p. 2)

— Review of Action Front Boyd Cable , 1916 selected work short story
Untitled 1916 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 7 September vol. 37 no. 1908 1916; (p. 2)

— Review of Action Front Boyd Cable , 1916 selected work short story
Last amended 26 Nov 2013 11:20:51
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