Bretherton: Khaki or Field Grey?

by W.F. Morris

In November 1918, as the Germans are in their final retreat, a British raiding party under fire follows the sound of piano music and stumbles across an eerie scene in a ruined chateau. A German officer lies dead at the keys, next to a beautiful woman, also deceased, in full evening dress. But what makes their discovery especially strange is that the man is the spitting image of G. B. Bretherton, a British officer missing in action.

This tale of mystery and identity, first published in 1929, is not only an authentic account of the brutal conditions at the battlefront, it’s also a remarkable thriller with a twisting, unusual plot that earned it comparisons to John Buchan and the best espionage writers.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, World War I, Historical Fiction, Espionage, Novels, Mystery Thriller

319 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Walter Frederick Morris (1892 - 1969) was an English novelist, best known for his mystery novel, ‘Bretherton’ (1929), set in World War I. Critic A.C. Ward praised this as "an adventure-mystery war-novel with an admirably ingenious and leak-proof plot. This book combines a brilliant exercise of creative imagination with a remarkable ability to reproduce, vividly, first-hand experiences, and there is one brief battle-scene…which is memorable." Spy novelist Eric Ambler named the book as one of his top five spy stories (in the Afterword to the 1952 edition of his Epitaph for a Spy). In total, he wrote ten novels.

Morris served with the 13th Cycle Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment during WWI, reaching the rank of Major at age 27, and was awarded the Military Cross (MC).

Reviews

[Sue]

I had hopes for this story, billed as an historical mystery, set during The Great War and written only a decade later. Early in the book, there were a couple of moments where the setting captured me, especially the narrator's description of his feelings of vulnerability on learning that the war was to end in only a few hours. How was he to protect himself during that time? This was well done.

But then! The prose simply seemed to falter, become just pedestrian, workman-like, with no sense of energy or "joy" in the writing to pull me along. And the descriptions of the soldiers themselves began to seem more and more like caricatures rather than like people. I realize that this is a novel, but I still expect it to be populated by people. As for the mystery itself, it did not grab me enough to keep me interested and reading. There are simply too many other books waiting.

1.5*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

This was an interesting addition to my WWI reading. Fiction, but the author served in WWI in a Cycle Battalion and so this comes from his personal knowledge. I had not heard of bicycles used in the war and this was new knowledge for me in my quest to learn about as many aspects of this war as I find time for. In this novel, the cycles were motorized.

In the GR author bio, this is referred to as a spy novel and perhaps that can be inferred from the title. There was also a bit of a mystery. The first part takes place on the eve of the Armistice. As British soldiers overtake a chateau, a German general is discovered. But is he a German general? The man who discovers him recognizes him as a British Captain who has gone missing. Part II reverts to late 1915 and comes forward. Part III picks up where Part II leaves off and brings us forward to the discovery of the German General.

There were no bloody war parts, though the reader is privileged to know of some of the fighting. The writing is not as polished as some later novels, but better than others of this period. There is only one character we follow throughout and he is fairly well drawn, though I think a more modern telling might do better. Or maybe not. A more modern telling might just make a thriller out of this and skip trying to make a real person out of the main character. There were thrillerish subchapters to this which helped in the overall story.

I'm glad to have read this. I don't think I'll be interested in more by this author as I think this is likely the best of his work. This is a strong 3-stars, but I'm not feeling generous enough for a 4th.

[Jill Meyer]

British author W F Morris wrote and published, "Bretherton: Khaki or Field Grey?" in 1929. This date is important because the detective/military book is about English and German soldiers on the western front in The Great War. It is the #1 book in the Casement Classic War Fiction series which is a reprint series of books about The Great War, originally published during the Inter-War period. Reading this book, I had the uncomfortable feeling in the knowledge of what came after "The Great War"; WW2.

Morris's book is part mystery and part military novel. Gerard Bretherton (GB) is an officer in the British army. He has a bit of a dicey past but his military service has, in general, been quite good and he's well thought-of by both officers and men. The subtitle of the book refers to the khaki worn by English soldiers as opposed to the field grey worn by the Germans. Questions comes up in the book about "GB's" identity and ultimate loyalty, which end only at the end of the war.

"Bretherton" is an interesting novel. It's written in three parts and in different voices and keeps the reader guessing about who's who and what's what. But the best thing about it is that it's written so close to The Great War that it has an immediacy lacking in books written later. I don't know if Morris fought in the war, but his writing about battles, life in the trenches, and the politics on both sides seem spot on.

[Betsy]

Unusual story with some intrigue and lots of puzzling aspects. I liked most of the characters, except for one. The descriptions of life for the prisoners was chilling, especially what they went through to try to make it home. I agree with one reviewer about how implausible the plot is, but that doesn't mean it isn't entertaining.

[Mandy]

I really can’t understand why this book has faded from view since it was first published to wide acclaim in 1930, especially as we are currently commemorating the First World War and this is by anyone’s standards a gripping and compelling war story. Perhaps its reissue will get it some well-deserved attention. Arnold Bennett, apparently, called it “the finest English war-novel yet issued” and Eric Ambler included it in 1952 in his top five spy stories. The plot is, admittedly, a bit bizarre and a little hard to really credit, but it’s told with such style and panache that the author just about gets away with it. The title character Bretherton, by a strange concatenation of circumstances, finds himself serving in both khaki and field-grey, in other words in both the British and German armies. The puzzling opening pages of the novel set the scene and the rest of the book unravels the mystery. It’s at one time a thriller, a spy story, a mystery and a very convincing and authentic war story. The banter between the soldiers feels very genuine, as does their stoical and brave behaviour in the terrible conditions on the Western front. Admittedly the romantic sections are somewhat clichéd and it all feels a bit boy’s own adventure-ish at times, but overall it’s realistic, cleverly plotted - with a very unusual and original plot - with good characterisation and well-paced. This is a novel that definitely deserves to be resurrected.

[Eugene Khodakov]

Under this cover you can find two books for the price of one. These two books couldn't be more different from each other. And nevertheless they are somehow fused together by the peculiar will of their author.

First part of Bretherton is an honest, vivid and straightforward account of a British officer who is eager to talk about his life in the trenches of WWI. W.F. Morris served with the 8th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment, was awarded the Military Cross and at the end of the war was in command of the Cycle Battalion of the XIII Army Corps. Pages of this book are filled with his own memories and real experiences. Sights, sounds, sensations of war spring in reader's imagination.

"Suddenly, at our feet yawned a shallow ditch scratched in the chalk, shapeless, unrecognizable as a trench; a litter of burst sandbags, scraps of equipment and humanity pounded into the chalky ooze by the belching guns, but revealing dark, half-blocked holes in the earth from which issued grey, dirt-stained figures with earth-matted hair, grimy, bloodless faces, and glaring, crazed eyes. Then came a flicker of bayonets, the gasping breathing of panting, striving men; grunts, groans, sobs, screams, and the crack of bursting bombs: and the wave passed on, leaving behind the foul, soggy, unspeakable ditch and the silly, lolling, grotesque, grinning figures.
Noise, noise everywhere: thudding, crashing in the earth; screaming, whirring, whistling in the air—noise that maddened the brain; and incessantly the insane tap-tap-tapping of machine guns. A fury of noise; a madness of sound. Men mad, shouting, cursing, praying; men with bloodshot eyes and ted-tipped bayonets tripping over wire, splashing through foul water, and stumbling into holes.
We crouched in our shallow trench whilst the earth shook and broke around us and the results of our hard digging were destroyed in a few minutes. The hot sun beat down pitilessly upon our steel helmets. Our losses became heavier and heavier; and the pounding still went on. Twice in twenty minutes our telephone line was cut, and we lost men repairing it. My senses became numbed by the concussion; I lay on my face, expecting every second to be blown to atoms, but I was too dazed to be afraid. In this inferno it was courting death to raise oneself."

This is how Battle of the Somme was fought. This is an example of a tiny, unimportant fragment of this gargantuan, inhumanly brutal battle. And here is another scene:

"The men had just been detailed to their dug-outs, and the orderlies were coming up the trench with the dixies of tea when the hurtling roar of a “crump” descended out of the blue. The orderlies dropped the dixies and lay flat. The earth shook; twenty yards away a great black cloud bellied out above the trench and a gigantic sack of coals, it seemed, was tipped down a chute.
Gurney took his pipe from his mouth, and made a grimace. “Five-nine,” he remarked.
The orderlies had risen unscathed and were picking lumps of earth out of the tea.
From the dug-out next door rose the ironical chorus of the men:
I want to go home. I want to go home.
Whizz-bangs and sausages make such a noise,
I want to go home and be one of the boys.
Take me over the sea
Where the Alleman can’t get at me.
Oh my, I don’t want to die; I want to go home.
G. B. grinned and threw his tin hat on to his valise. “They will have more to say when they taste that tea.”

This is one of the many humorous vignettes scattered throughout the book. Amazingly, these lighthearted scenes constitute an impressive portion of the narrative. Lives of our heroes are filled with jokes, quips, songs and revelry. And also with dirt, noise, exhaustion, pain and death. There is no juxtaposition. It is all part of the job. It is very interesting to read about WWI from a somewhat privileged point of view of a British officer. These insanely brave and honorable people are portrayed as extremely patriotic figures. Above all else they believe in the comradery and soldier's duty. They dread war but they are not opposed to it on a conceptual level. Sometimes wars happen, and then every man has to put his life on the line. And while putting his life on the line he can occasionally have a good time in the company of grateful ladies of some French town. It looks like many British officers even after absolutely harrowing battles were able to see the war as an adventure. They fought in the foreign lands and could always fall back from the line to their comfortable billets.

It is obvious that Morris doesn't completely share this point of view. He is very sympathetic towards his former enemy, Brother Bosche. He understand that at the end of the day a soldier is left with the fatigue and strain of years of fighting, and the oppressed sense of the complicated hopelessness of war, of the futility of everything.

But the writer creates a very interesting and colorful picture. His war is a very pragmatic and reasonable, and also absurdly horrifying, and also funny, and also beautiful, and ugly, and comforting. He expertly weaves his own experiences into the story told from the perspective of several officers, who are present us with their war-diaries.

And then the first book ends and the second begins. It immediately drops all pretense at being realistic. We leave behind meandering, emotional wartime memoirs and plunge into crazy, daring and tragically romantic story about highly improbable action-adventures of one incredible soldier. Now we have an omniscient narrator, who tells the story confidently and competently, but without an engaging flair of a personal account. After a couple of reasonably believable chapters all the hell suddenly breaks loose, all the silliness comes flooding in. The plot falls in a fit and writhe in hysterics. Absurd coincidences are piling dangerously on top of each other. The book seems to draw inspiration from the same source as modern soap operas. The author makes one desperate 180-degree turn after another.

I believe that I have no right to retell even a small part of this beautiful story. But I will tell you one thing: What saves the second part of Bretherton is its audacity. This book is absolutely shameless in its melodramatic efforts. It is outrageously bold in its ridiculous concepts. The author just doesn't care. He doesn't care that the story goes off the rails. He doesn't care that no critic would ever take this book seriously. He doesn't care that his carefully painted portrait of war turns more and more into caricature with every new brushstroke. Despite everything Morris loves and respects his characters. And their desperate, agonizing tragedy strongly represent the strangeness and ugliness and utmost futility of the First World War.

[Rayrumtum]

This novel by W.F. Morris was popular when originally published in 1930. Set during WWI it details the adventures of British soldier G Bretherton. It is divided into three parts and told from different perspectives. The author actually served in WWI in a bicycle brigade and the descriptions reflect actual eyes on details. It is part a war story, a spy story, and a love story.

I discovered this book in a retrospective review by Michael Dirda writing for the Post.

[Judi Moore]

I have no idea, now, how I came across this rather peculiar book. It is one of the Casemate classic war fiction series.

It is set in the first world war, a period which I know to be a period of poetic flourishing, but had always assumed to be rather under-represented by fiction.

W F Morris first published this book in 1929, and it reads very much as though he was there. Indeed, I cannot remember having read a book of prose in which the way of life at the front is so vividly depicted. No Mans’ Land, the minor and major forays across that blasted ground, the barrages, the spotter plans, the strafing, the Verey lights, the landscape – grass and tree and cottage – torn to shreds; the comparative comfort of a billet behind the front lines, the calm acceptance of a duty to be done. What is not in the book is the sort of condemnation of the war that one finds in the later WWI poetry of Owen, Sassoon, Blunden and others. A task is being performed as well as possible by men who maintain a sense of humour and drink a lot of scotch. It is surprising, perhaps, how believable that is. Or perhaps it is not surprising at all.

The plot of the novel is complex and to hint, even, is to give too much away. Suffice it to say that this reader believed three times that the denouement had arrived when it had not. The book meanders through the story in an apparently random way, which is actually cunningly crafted so that every time one thinks, ‘Ah! So that’s when/how/why …’ it actually isn’t. Morris put together a fine mystery in 1929 and told it beautifully. It has stood the changes of fashion in fiction remarkably well, and certainly merited unearthing and reprinting in this current Casemate series in 2016. Although Casemate might have made a better fist of proofing the last third of the book. Most of the errors are just little irritants, but on a few occasions they lead to puzzles for the reader.

If you are interested in WWI I recommend this to you without reservation. Despite the proofing errors it is a really interesting and well written novel.

[Ryan]

Expertly crafted novel set in WWI, with a seeming double-agent at the center. The solution to the mystery of Bretherton's allegiances seems to be supernatural at first (his bizarre reappearance at the end of Part II has a deeply unreal quality), though the resolution ends up being stranger than any ghost story.

The central situation is really quite far fetched (requiring prison escapes, multiple bouts of amnesia, two sets of fraternal twins with the sisters as love interests of someone with dual (if not dueling) personalities, etc.), but told with such remarkable versimilitude that one is able to suspend all disbelief. While frankly depicting the tremendous waste of the war, the courage of those facing the task of fighting it is as stirring as anything from Ernst Jünger, though G.B.'s final act of heroism is in the interest of reducing such needless loss of life on all sides.

One could argue that there is criticism of war implicit in the book as well - soldiers are reduced to automatons once they enter the theater of conflict, and individuality, and even identity are irrelevant to the structures supporting the mechanized edifice of modern battle. Only in this context of insanity could the implausible scenario of the central conceit be possible - where as long as a soldier performs his duty credibly, his role becomes that of a machine to everyone not under his immediate command.

[Mia]

The best part of this book is the sensitive portrayal of war. The author describes the feelings of terror and bravery as the men move toward impossible objectives. He describes the clouds of smoke, the destroyed forests, the shelled villages with crumbling buildings. The personal story requires a belief in whether or not amnesia can be so all-encompassing. I have studied a second language for years and I am not truly bilingual so I wondered how someone could wake up thinking in a second language without ever lapsing into English and thus opening a door into his own past. I liked book and the story is compelling.

[Pharmacdon]

"Bretherton: Khaki or Field Grey?" by W.F. Morris, originally published in 1929, vividly portrays the brutal conditions of the battlefront while weaving a narrative that combines elements of mystery similar to a detective story with detailed accounts of trench warfare.The title refers to the uniforms of the opposing forces during World War I: the khaki worn by English soldiers contrasts with the field grey of the Germans, symbolizing the broader conflict and tension in the narrative.
It sometimes is a slow slog at first but we the narrative changes to G.B. then the story becomes more interesting and involved.

[Susan Kavanagh]

Another good reprint. The author of this book,William F. Morris, served in WWI as a member of the motorized bicycle brigade. This mystery/ thriller, originally published in 1929, was considered the best of a number of books he wrote. Thanks to Casemate Classics for republishing it in 2016 and to Michael Dirda for highly recommending it.

[Sandy]

This is an interesting book. But not a good one. The premise is promising, but the parts just don't mesh. You can read it for fun and historical interest -- WW I British jargon and the like -- but don't expect much.

[Tom]

As an account of soldiering in the Great War, it is sublime. As a mystery, it is pretty good though a bit farfetched. As a tale of thwarted romance, it's rather lame.

[Patrick Schultheis]

Definitely a period piece - the jargon and abbreviations had me reaching for Wikipedia a lot. Good characters and a fun plot.

[Jeffrey Cavanaugh]

A fairly taut WW1 tragic thriller that, though dated, still remains an entertaining read.

[Deb]

Implausible plot, yet redeemed by a writing style realistic and rarely gifted to this reader.

[Pascale]

A needlessly convoluted and ultimately implausible plot, maybe of some interest for teen-age boys or aficionados of WWI but not for the general adult reader. Bretherton, a fearless captain in the British Army, ends up passing as Colonel von Wahnheim in the German army after being taken prisoner and suffering from amnesia. Conveniently, since he spent time in Berlin with von Wahnheim and spoke German fluently before the war, nobody suspects anything and he performs just as well in one army as in the other. Then he is taken prisoner by his own camp, remembers his own identity, is asked to infiltrate the Germans again and, can you believe it? suffers amnesia AGAIN and does another round as von Wahnheim instead of spying on the Germans. As Bretherton he falls in love with Helen, and as von Wahnheim he seduces the beautiful Duchess von Wittelberg-Strelitz. I was hoping that this succession of unbelievable changes of identity would lead to some sort of pacifist message but this doesn't seem to have been the author's intention.

[Maria Beltrami]

La prima guerra mondiale sta finendo. L'ora del cessate il fuoco è già stato fissata e un battaglione inglese e uno tedesco stanno combattendo l'ultima battaglia, più per il morale che per il pegno, un piccolo castello. I tedeschi si ritirano e un ufficiale, Baron, entra nel castello attirato dalle note di un pianoforte che suona alcune tipiche marce militari inglesi. L'ufficiale percorre i corridoi fino ad arrivare a un salone, dove gli si presenta davanti una scena surreale: una donna bellissima, che indossa un abito da sera, morta senza alcuna apparente ferita, e un generale tedesco, anch'egli morto, con una ferita da baionetta nel petto e il capo reclinato sul pianoforte. Baron scosta il capo dell'uomo e il viso che gli si presenta davanti lo riempie di orrore, perché è quello di un suo caro amico, a sua volta ufficiale britannico, Gerard Bretherton, che tutti chiamano G.B.
Da questa premessa parte il racconto di una storia stranissima, scritta prima dal punto di vista di Baron poi da quello di G.B., che è sia resoconto fedele degli orrori della prima guerra mondiale scritto da chi li ha vissuti in prima persona, sia un fine thriller psicologico che mescola la spy-story a un mistero che sembra preso di peso da Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Il linguaggio rude e un po' insolito all'inizio rende difficile la lettura, ma una volta che ci si è abituati diventa uno dei pregi del romanzo.
Ringrazio Casemate Publishers per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

The First World War is over. The time for ceasing the fire has already been fixed and an English and a German battalion are battling the last battle, plus for the morale then pledge, a small castle. The Germans retreat and an officer, Baron, enters the castle attracted by the notes of a piano playing some typical British military marches. The officer runs through the corridors until he arrives at a salon where he presents himself in front of a surreal scene: a beautiful woman who wears an evening dress, dead without any apparent injury, and a German general, also dead, with a bayonet wound in his chest and his head reclined on the piano. Baron shakes the head of the man and what he sees fills hhum with horror, for the dead man is his dear friend, in turn British officer Gerard Bretherton, who everyone call G.B.
From this premise begins the narration of a strange story, written first from the point of view of Baron and then of G.B., which is both faithful account of the horrors of the First World War written by a man who lived it in the first person and a keen psychological thriller that blends spy-story with a mystery that seems to have been taken by Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
The rude and somewhat unusual language at first makes reading difficult, but once you become accustomed it becomes one of the plus of the novel.
I thank Casemate Publishers for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Yibbie]

I’ve never read a book with such an interesting format. What a marvelous way to build a mystery and then resolve it. I wasn’t prepared for it and it took me a paragraph or two to catch onto what the author was doing. After a bit, I was completely taken in. Telling a mystery from three different times, each time changing perspective, and only allowing them to tell what that person personally experienced was brilliant. Morris found the perfect way to monopolize on the chaos of war to build an incredibly complex thriller. I had all sorts of ‘solutions’ figured out, but none of them were right.
But… there were language problems. That's the reason for the two stars. If it wasn't for that I'd give it at least three maybe four. I was ready to quit in the first section when it switched voices and the remainder was much cleaner. I really wished I had a paper copy and could scratch them out.
It would have been a bit more fun if I understood British WWI military slang. There were a few times I had no idea what was being said, or what most of the acronyms mean. It would have been nice to have notes somewhere in it for translation purposes. Again, that was mostly in the first section and if you can plod through that part it’s defiantly worth reading.
The love story was woven in very well. One of my biggest peeves is a love story that detracts from the flow of the story or is separate from the main plot. Morris actually used the love story as an essential point. It’s also not overdone.
Because you know the ending from the beginning of the book, it’s not a letdown. If he had done it any other way it would be a heartbreaker. Not that it isn’t sad, but he gives you plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable.
So be warned about the language, and if you still decide to read it. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Casemate Publishers/Open Road Integrated Media for the chance to read this book for free and review it.

[Terri Wangard]

Bretherton is written in three parts, but they are not presented chronologically. Part One is the end of the story, but the writer of the preface, a fictional character, decided to present them in the order he received his information. Confusing. I would have preferred to have not known the end until I got there.

Having read the end of the story in Part One, Part Two dragged a bit for me. It is full of lyrical descriptions of the war experience, but how did that fit with Part One? It is taken from Captain Baron’s diary. He knew Bretherton, but didn’t focus on him. There was always the question, where’s this going?

Part Three is about Bretherton, and despite knowing how the story would end, it is so full of twists and turns that I was left wondering how the end would be reached.
Bretherton is a British officer who, through the events of the war, occasionally forgets that he is. The ability to succeed when he is not himself is uncanny. And entertaining.

The author, W. F. Morris, served in World War I. He knew his subject well. This is a British story which contains some terms unknown to me, but they did not prove to be obstacles in following the tale.

Be prepared to start out off balance, but enjoy the ride.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Jeremy Reppy]

The book starts off with a mystery -- why is Gerard Bretherton, a British officer, dead in a French chateau wearing a German officer's uniform and who is the mystery woman dead on the floor with no apparent wounds to explain her death. The rest of the book is the winding tale to explain the mystery. The book is set during World War I and most of the story takes place on the Western Front. If you are interested in WWI, you will probably enjoy this book. The author, who served in the British military in WWI, provides a vivid description of life in the trenches, life as a soldier, and the horror of the First World War. [This book was published in 1930 and was republished in 2016]. The book will also appeal to mystery fans. The author has created a very imaginative story to explain the mystery with which the book starts; but yet, the explanation fits in well with the new horrors that WWI brought to the battlefield and to the lives of soldiers.

I received a copy of the ebook from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

[Homerun2]

Bretherton is a quirky and well-done mystery from the Golden Age. The details and time period feel well done. The mystery itself is compelling and odd, but the true value here was the amazingly authentic WWI details. This book is amazing due to its setting.

Without giving anything away, this mystery starts around the time of the Armistice with two dead bodies and works backword from there, using several different characters and time periods to unravel the story of what happened.

Somehow between the war description and the despair of the main character, the author manages to make a strong comment on the uselessness and folly of warfare, particularly the Great War.

I received an ARC of this novel via Net Galley in return for my honest review. I found this to be an absorbing read and would recommend it.

[Susan]

So what so the truth of Bretherton, was he an English soldier or a German officer, during the Great war. This is his story as told by him, and the story from others viewpoints.
An interesting thriller, told from the beginning of the war up until the last day, with its descriptions of the conditions of the war.
A NetGalley Book

[Myra Flowers]

WF Morris has written several WWI books. He was there and his writing is the real thing. This book presents an intriguing mystery. The mystery unfolds throughout the book. Great story that illustrates the fear, pathos, tragedy of war. I couldn't guess this ending. Great read.