Return of the Soldier

Returning to his stately English home from the chaos of World War I, a shell-shocked officer finds that he has left much of his memory in the front's muddy trenches. The three women who love him best anxiously await his arrival: the thoughtful and intuitive cousin who narrates the story, the lovely wife he cannot recognize, and the woman with whom he shared a summer romance 15 years ago. Rebecca West's novel depicts neither battles nor battlefields. This remarkable tale takes a searching look at the far-reaching effects of the first modern war on a sheltered society. The Return of the Soldier effectively and memorably captures the spirit of England in the throes of unwelcome change. It is a penetrating view of the nation's shifting class structures and offers a sensitive portrayal of individuals torn between nostalgia for their irretrievable past and acceptance of their conflicted present. Reprint of the Century Co., New York, 1918 edition.