The Overcoat by Conrad Larson ISBN: 9781931916530
Published by OVERCOAT on 2008
Pages: 224
Len's Summary: A mystery novel of WWI.
The Given Day
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane ISBN: 0688163181
Published by William Morrow on September 23rd 2008
Pages: 704
Len's Summary: A sprawling novel of post-World-War-One upheaval and uncertainty in Boston, by the author of Mystic River. A fictionalized account of events surrounding the Boston Police strike of 1919, racial and ethnic strife, anarchist and Bolshevik agitation, the catastrophic collapse of the North End molasses tank, the influenza pandemic, Irish politics, and Babe Ruth.
Time Is the Fire: A Novel of the Great War
Time Is the Fire: A Novel of the Great War by William Breedlove Martin ISBN: 9781606101186
Published by PublishAmerica on 2008
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 312
Len's Summary: Deals mainly with the family left behind in Georgia by two brothers serving in the US First Pursuit Group.
Life Class
Life Class by Pat Barker ISBN: 0307387801
Published by Anchor on January 6th 2009
Genres: Fiction, General, Historical
Pages: 320
Len's Summary: From the Booker Prize-winning (Ghost Road) author of the Regeneration trilogy, this novel takes on the issue of art and war-time censorship.
Among the Mad: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
Among the Mad: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear ISBN: 9780312429256
Published by Picador on November 24th 2009
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Historical
Pages: 336
Len's Summary: In her sixth Maisie Dobbs detective novel, Winspear has her heroine join a high power Scotland Yard team in attempting to forestall cataclysmic disaster in 1931 London. Maisie, a WWI VAD, again uses her WWI experience to crack the case.
Slum and Guns: Tales of the Marines in the Great War
Slum and Guns: Tales of the Marines in the Great War by Wayne A. Pettyjohn ISBN: 1456818082
Published by Xlibris Corporation on November 18th 2010
Pages: 166
Len's Summary: Available from the author at phidwaye@aol.com. The second novel in a planned Marine Corps trilogy, this one a series of short stories based on the exploits of the Fourth Marine Brigade on the Western Front.
The Ace
The Ace by Jack D. Hunter ISBN: 9780979924064
Published by Blue River Press on September 1st 2008
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 300
Len's Summary: Story of the political intrigue and corruption surrounding American combat aviation in World War One written by the author of The Blue Max, his 17th and final novel published the year before his death in 2009.
A Sacrifice of Innocents: A Novel of the Great War
A Sacrifice of Innocents: A Novel of the Great War by Alan James Barker ISBN: 0955569877
Published by Tommies Guides on February 1st 2009
Pages: 340
Len's Summary: A believable work on the experiences of a British battalion on the Western Front from September 1915 to March 1916.
The Mapping of Love and Death: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
The Mapping of Love and Death: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear ISBN: 9780061727665
Published by Harper Collins on 2010
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Historical
Pages: 338
Len's Summary: Set in 1932, this is the seventh novel in the Maisie Dobbs series in which Maisie, a former WWI VAD, investigates the mysterious death of an American cartographer believed killed in battle. Winspear’s sixth Maisie Dobbs novel, Among the Dead, was published in 2009.
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd ISBN: 9780062015716
Published by HarperCollins on May 1st 2012
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
Pages: 368
Len's Summary: Todd’s (actually a mother and son writing team) second mystery featuring British nurse Bess Crawford involved in a murder while on Christmas leave from war torn France.
An Impartial Witness: A Bess Crawford Mystery
An Impartial Witness: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd ISBN: 0061791784
Published by William Morrow on August 31st 2010
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Historical
Pages: 352
Len's Summary: A British nurse crisscrosses England investigating mysterious deaths during WWI. Recommended by Susan Hall-Balduf.
Armistice
Armistice by Nick Stafford ISBN: 9781849160230
on 2010
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Thrillers, General
Pages: 311
Len's Summary: Set in post-1918 London, a Manchester seamstress searches for news of her fiancée killed on the Western Front. A tangled web of deceit.
The Scent of Roses in Winter
The Scent of Roses in Winter by Michael P. Kihntopf ISBN: 1452080372
Published by AuthorHouse on October 5th 2010
Pages: 184
Len's Summary: A well-crafted novel about the experiences of a German soldier on both eastern and western fronts, as well as in the postwar freicorps. Written by the chairman of WFA’s Southwest Chapter who has also published two histories of the Eastern Front.
Sunnyside
Sunnyside by Glen David Gold ISBN: 9780307454980
Published by Vintage Books on May 4th 2010
Genres: Fiction, Literary
Pages: 675
Len's Summary: A rollicking comic novel set on a single day in the winter of 1916; a tale of perversity and misfortune involving, among others, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Elsie Janis.
Beneath Hill 60
Beneath Hill 60 by Will Davies ISBN: 9781448125265
on 2010
Genres: History, Military, World War I, World
Pages: 288
Len's Summary: Just released as a motion picture in Australia, this recounts the story of Australian miners digging a massive mine under German trenches on Hill 60 in Flanders 1916.
Not Only War: A Story of Two Great Conflicts
Not Only War: A Story of Two Great Conflicts by Victor Daly ISBN: 9780813929712
Published by University of Virginia Press on June 2nd 2010
Genres: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical
Pages: 103
Len's Summary: Dubbed by the publisher as the only WWI novel written by an African-American, Daly examines the impact of the Jim Crow color line on black officers in the segregated military. The reprint included three short stories by Daly.
The Kaiser’s Yanks
The Kaiser’s Yanks by Gary C. Warne ISBN: 1935683098
Published by Richardson Publishing on June 28th 2011
Pages: 288
Len's Summary: A fanciful tale of a group of American of German ancestry who travel to Germany to join the Kaisers forces ending up in the air force.
A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery
A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd ISBN: 9780062034687
Published by Harper Collins on January 4th 2011
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
Pages: 368
Len's Summary: Shell shocked Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge returns to solve a triple homicide. Charles Todd is a pseudonym for the mother-son writing team of Charles and Caroline Todd.
The Return of Captain John Emmett
The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller ISBN: 9780547737409
on 2011
Genres: Fiction, Literary, Mystery & Detective, Traditional, Historical
Pages: 442
Len's Summary: The investigation of suicide by a British war veteran in 1920 reveals a tangled web of secrets.
Soldier of the Horse
Soldier of the Horse by Robert W. MacKay ISBN: 9781926741246
Published by TouchWood Editions on 2011
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 234
Len's Summary: Novel of the Canadian cavalry in WWI including an informative account of the Battle of Moreuil Wood. Available from www.touchwoodeditions.com.
Strange Meeting
Strange Meeting by Susan Hill ISBN: 9780140036954
Published by Penguin Books on 2011
Pages: 184
Len's Summary: First published by Nonpariel in 1992, this is story of friendship in wartime. Also available used from Barnes & Noble.
Fall of Giants
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett ISBN: 9781101543559
Published by Penguin on August 30th 2011
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 960
Len's Summary: First book of The Century Trilogy published by Dutton in 2010. This novel by the author of Eye of the Needle follows the lives of fictional characters from five countries from 1911 to 1924 putting them into genuine historical situations involving WWI combat on two fronts, the Russian Revolution and the struggle for workers’ rights and women’s suffrage.
The Dead of Mametz
The Dead of Mametz by Jonathan Hicks ISBN: 9781847713155
Published by Y Lolfa on April 9th 2011
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Historical
Pages: 332
Len's Summary: A fictional account of the adventures of a former Welsh policeman serving as an officer of the BEF Military Foot Police. Apparently the first in a planned series.
The Blasphemer
The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale ISBN: 9780307717047
Published by Broadway Paperbacks on August 23rd 2011
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Thrillers, General
Pages: 371
Len's Summary: A novel of the Ypres front of 1917 and 1918 with superb detail on life in the mud and trenches.
The Bootlace Boys
The Bootlace Boys by Eric Collinson ISBN: 9780956342676
Published by Tommies Guides on October 1st 2011
Pages: 392
Len's Summary: A novel based on the Great War letters of a Durham coal hewer.
My Dear I Wanted to Tell You: A Novel
My Dear I Wanted to Tell You: A Novel by Louisa Young ISBN: 0061997153
Published by Harper Perennial on June 26th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Literary
Pages: 336
Len's Summary: Centered on a patient with disfiguring facial war wounds being treated the renowned Queen’s Hospital Sidcup.
Coming Home
Coming Home by Roy E. Stolworthy ISBN: 9781781590713
Published by Claymore on 2012
Genres: Fiction, General, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 376
Len's Summary: Story of a 15-year-old British volunteer seeking a glorious death in his slain brother’s name. A first novel short listed for the 1910 BritAwards for unpublished fiction.
On Dangerous Ground: A Gallipoli Story
On Dangerous Ground: A Gallipoli Story by Bruce Scates ISBN: 1742583938
Published by University of Western Australia Press on September 15th 2012
Genres: History, Military, World War I
Pages: 272
Len's Summary: A novel of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign mixing fact and fiction written by a leading Australian historian; featuring a selection of paintings by Australian artist George Lambert.
Park Lane
Park Lane by Frances Osborne ISBN: 9780345803283
Published by Vintage Books on June 12th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Sagas, Historical, War & Military
Pages: 322
Len's Summary: The outbreak of WWI forever changes the British social order; in the genre of Up Upstairs, Down Stairs & Downton Abby.
The Somme Stations
The Somme Stations by Andrew Martin ISBN: 0571249647
Published by Faber & Faber on February 1st 2012
Pages: 336
Len's Summary: Number seven in the Jim Stringer Steam Detective series finds Jim investigating a murder in a British railway pioneer battalion on the Western Front. // Enlisted British Army railwayman Jim Stronger finds himself falsely accused of murder during the 1916 Somme Campaign. Winner of the British Dagger Award for Best Historical Mystery.
The Baghdad Railway Club
The Baghdad Railway Club by Andrew Martin ISBN: 9780571249619
Published by Faber & Faber on 2012
Pages: 304
Len's Summary: Another Jim Stringer Railway Cop novel finds our hero invalided from the Western front and in Mesopotamia seeking a British traitor.
The Daughters of Mars: A Novel
The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally ISBN: 9781476734613
Published by Simon and Schuster on August 20th 2013
Pages: 517
Len's Summary: Two Australian girls leave their farming community to serve as nurses first at the Dardanelles, then behind the Western Front where they find both horror and romance.
Harvard 1914: A War Romanc
Harvard 1914: A War Romanc by Allegra Jordan ISBN: 9780988203105
Published by Gold Gable Press on November 1st 2012
Pages: 330
Len's Summary: Set in Boston and Flanders this is a love story involving an American woman and a German nobleman, both students at Harvard. Things get complicated when he is called home for military service.
The Stranger’s Child
The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst ISBN: 0307474348
Published by Vintage on September 4th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Literary
Pages: 435
Len's Summary: A novel of British morals and manners spanning the lives of two families from 1913 through the First World War and across the century. The author is a winner of the Man Booker Prize.
The Cocaine Salesman
The Cocaine Salesman by Conny Braam, Jonathan Reeder ISBN: 1907822054
Published by Haus Publishing on June 19th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 450
Len's Summary: Traces the lives during and after WWI of two men — one a disfigured British soldier, one a Dutch drug dealer — impacted by the war-time trade in cocaine based in the Netherlands.
The Absolutist
The Absolutist by John Boyne ISBN: 1590515528
Published by Other Press on July 10th 2012
Pages: 309
Len's Summary: The life and death of a WWI conscientious objector by the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Tackles the post-1918 anti-war movement in the UK.
Waiting for Sunrise
Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd ISBN: 9781410449009
Published by Thorndike Press on July 26th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 577
Len's Summary: World War I espionage novel set in Vienna, London and Geneva by the author of the memorable An Ice Cream War, a rollicking farce about chasing von Lettow Vorbeck around East Africa. Also available as a Nook Book.
The Chinese Attack
The Chinese Attack by John Bishop ISBN: 9781843869191
Published by Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers on January 1st 2012
Pages: 400
Len's Summary: A novel of the Chinese Labor Corps on the Western Front.
Toby’s Room
Toby’s Room by Pat Barker ISBN: 0385524366
Published by Doubleday on October 2nd 2012
Genres: Fiction, Historical, War & Military, Family Life
Pages: 320
Len's Summary: A British rehabilitation hospital treats facially disfigured WWI soldiers in a sequel to Ms. Barker’s 2008 Life Class. She won the 1995 Man Booker Prize for Ghost Road, third volume of her WWI Regeneration trilogy.
An Unmarked Grave
An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd ISBN: 9780062015730
Published by HarperCollins on January 2nd 2013
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
Pages: 272
Len's Summary: It’s 1918 and nurse Bess Crawford is investigating the murder of a British officer on the Western Front and finds herself becoming a target of the murderer; second novel in the Bess Crawford series. The first Bess Crawford book: A Bitter Truth, a William Morrow reprint, 2012, is also available from Amazon.
President’s Quarterly Update—April 2024
Dear Members and Friends,
I’m extremely pleased with the level of WW1HA’s activities, some of which may be unseen by you.
Our Journal, “World War One Illustrated,” is now published three times a year with an average length of 48 pages. Each issue is filled with high-quality articles covering a variety of topics, including the popular “My Kin in the Great War” series.
Our electronic newsletter, “Here and There with the WW1HA” is published monthly, with an assortment of Association events and articles covering WW1 topics.
Sal Compagno’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter continues to hold monthly meetings via Zoom, while Mark Benbow’s Eastern Chapter is holding quarterly meetings.
As President, I am also hosting a quarterly “Fireside Chat” online. The last one emphasized WW1 poetry. The next one will emphasize WW1-era music.
If you’re already a member, I thank you for your membership and encourage you to take part in these activities. If you’re not a member, I ask you to join and participate in these activities. Participate in the events and consider submitting an article for the journal or newsletter.
Reach out to me with your comments: lavarennes@meuse-argonne.com.
Regards,
Randy Gaulke
