The secret battle
Emotional survival in the great warMichael Roper
"Roper has not only written a highly readable, riveting account of certain emotions at war, but has also contributed something very new to the history of warfare generally. There is simply nothing else like this book currently in the field. It will serve as a model upon which further research is conducted. "
Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck College
This book is about the battle for emotional survival of young British civilian soldiers during the Western Front in the First World War, and the part played by their families in that battle.
Family relationships, it contends, sustained throughout wartime separation by memories of home, and by the letters and parcels sent by loved ones, played a key role in sustaining the morale of this young, largely amateur army. This is an original attempt to write the history of the war from the point of view of relationships between the home and battle fronts.
The book is aimed at general readers who are interested in the personal experience and psychological impact of the First World War on soldiers and their families.
For a sample chapter, please click here.
Note, there may be minor changes to this chapter on publication.Contents:
List of figures
Preface
Introduction
PART I: MOTHERS AND SONS
1. Keeping in touch
2. Separation and support
PART II: MOTHERING MEN
3. Staying alive
4. Learning to care
5. Love and loss
PART III: FALLING APART
6. Nameless dread
7. The return of the soldier
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
Michael Roper is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex.
Cultural History of Modern War
216x138mm 368pp
hb 9780719079184 31 March 2009 £60.00
pb 9780719083860 01 August 2010 £19.99
30 b&w illustrations
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