John Jolliffe
The Real Sandy Arbuthnot
Aubrey Herbert was one of the most extraordinary characters to emerge from the First World War. When it began, he was a newly elected MP, aged thirty-four, and since he was at least half blind, military service was apparently out of the question. Undeterred, he joined the Irish Guards by the simple method of going to a military tailor, ordering a uniform, and falling in beside his battalion when they set off from barracks to embark for France on 12 August. In the amateurish confusion of the early days he was allowed to remain as an interpreter. In spite of very heavy casualties in the retreat from Mons, his diaries, on which this book is based, contain hilarious as well as tragic details.
They were in action almost at once. A few days later,
a really terrific fire opened. It was as if a scythe of bullets passed directly over our heads … it came in gusts, whistling and sighing … The turnips seemed to offer a sort of cover,
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
‘He has become a kind of global guru, public intellectual and consultant to the great. He is the ultimate geopolitical gerontocrat.’
From July 2022: Piers Brendon on Henry Kissinger.
Piers Brendon - Margaret Thatcher As I Knew Her
Piers Brendon: Margaret Thatcher As I Knew Her - Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger
literaryreview.co.uk
‘Even setting to one side the historically neuralgic relationship with ... Ireland, Britain’s insular periphery has from at least the time of the Romans presented difficulties for authorities wishing to centralise.’
Peter Marshall on Britain's islands.
Peter Marshall - Notes from the Atlantic Archipelago
Peter Marshall: Notes from the Atlantic Archipelago - The Britannias: An Island Quest by Alice Albinia
literaryreview.co.uk
Offer ends soon! Take advantage of our best ever Black Friday offer and get a year's subscription for £29.99.
https://www.mymagazinesub.co.uk/literary-review/promo/blackfriday/