Death of a Hero: Richard Aldington

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 Hero vividly evokes the morally degrading nature of combat as it rushes toward its astounding finish.