The Wages of Virtue

by P.C. Wren

This carefully crafted "The Wages of Virtue (Adventure Classic)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.The Wages of Virtue is one of the early novels by P. C. Wren. Sir Montague Merline and his platoon get into a bloody combat in Africa and they are all massacred except for one man. Since her husband is presumed dead, Lady Merline remarries, but Montague emerges a couple of years later in some African village, with no memory. After finding out about his wife's new life, he decides not to ruin her happiness and goes off to join French Foreign Legion. The descriptions of Legion garrison life closely match those contained in the autobiographical In the Foreign Legion by ex-legionnaire Edwin Rosen.Percival Christopher Wren (1875-1941) was an English writer, mostly of adventure fiction. He is remembered best for Beau Geste, a much-filmed book of 1924, involving the French Foreign Legion in North Africa. This was one of 33 novels and short story collections that he wrote, mostly dealing with colonial soldiering in Africa. While his fictional accounts of life in the pre-1914 Foreign Legion are highly romanticized, his details of Legion uniforms, training, equipment and barrack room layout are generally accurate, which has led to unproven suggestions that Wren himself served with the legion.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure

Hardcover

First published November 1, 1916

About the author

Percival Christopher Wren (1 November 1875 – 22 November 1941) was a British writer, mostly of adventure fiction. He is remembered best for Beau Geste, a much-filmed book of 1924 involving the French Foreign Legion in North Africa, and its sequels, Beau Sabreur and Beau Ideal.

Born as plain Percy Wren, in Deptford, South London, England, Percy was the son of a schoolmaster. After graduation with a Master of Arts degree from St. Catherine's College, Oxford, a non-collegiate college for poorer students, Percy worked as a boarding school teacher for a few years, during which he married Alice Shovelier, and had a daughter (Estelle, born 1901). In 1903 he joined the Indian Education Service as headmaster of Karachi High School (now Pakistan). While in India, he joined the Poona Volunteer Rifles with the rank of Captain, before his service was terminated in October 1915 after sick leave. He resigned from the Indian Education Service in November 1917. It is presumed that his wife died in India, for no record of her return to Britain has been found; his daughter having died in England in 1910. From there it is claimed that he joined the French Foreign Legion for a single tour of five years though he would have been 42 years of age on enlistment, somewhat older that the usual recruit. He lived out the remainder of his life in England concentrating on his literary career. One of the few photographs of Wren known shows a typical British officer of the Edwardian era with clipped moustache, wearing plain dark blue regimental dress.

Wren was a highly secretive man, and his membership of the Legion has never been confirmed. When his novels became famous, there was a mysterious absence of authenticating photographs of him as a legionnaire or of the usual press-articles by old comrades wanting to cash in on their memories of a celebrated figure. It is now thought more likely that he encountered legionnaires during his extensive travels in Algeria and Morocco, and skillfully blended their stories with his own memories of a short spell as a cavalry trooper in England. While his fictional accounts of life in the pre-1914 Foreign Legion are highly romanticised, his details of Legion uniforms, training, equipment and barrack room layout are generally accurate. This may however simply reflect careful research on his part - the descriptions of Legion garrison life given in his work The Wages of Virtue written in 1914 closely match those contained in the autobiographical In the Foreign Legion by ex legionnaire Edwin Rosen, published Duckworth London 1910.

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

ENGLISH: P.C. Wren is well-known for his novels about the French Foreign Legion, especially his Geste trilogy. In this novel (one of his first) Wren starts with a prologue which explains that the protagonist, a captain in the British army in Africa, was considered dead after a battle, his wife married another man, and now they have a son. Rather than appearing again and breaking her new family, he becomes a soldier in the French foreing legion.

In other words, this is another "Beau Geste," although less interesting, for there is no Zinderneuf, Blue Water, or De Bojolais.

ESPAÑOL: P.C. Wren es muy conocido por sus novelas sobre la Legión extranjera francesa, especialmente su trilogía sobre los hermanos Geste. En esta novela (una de las primeras que escribió) Wren comienza con un prólogo en el que el protagonista, un capitán del ejército británico en África, fue dado por muerto después de una batalla, su esposa se casó con otro hombre y ahora tienen un hijo. En lugar de presentarse y romper esta nueva familia, se convierte en soldado de la legión extranjera francesa.

Dicho de otro modo: este libro es otro "Beau Geste", aunque menos interesante, ya que no salen Zinderneuf, el Agua Azul ni De Bojolais.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so loving this author, he is so fun! Witty, smashing great plot, fall-in-love-with characters. Follows the same themes of honor, loyalty, bravery, courage, friendship/brotherhood (sibling-hood?) & self-sacrifice as his other books.

A married man (Sir Montague Merline) is fighting for England in Africa and his whole outfit is massacred in an ambush except for one man. That man reports all dead.

A year later Lady Merline marries their mutual friend Lord Huntingten and they are very happy and have a son.

About 2-3 years later Sir Merline turns up in some village in Africa with an old bullet in his head--he doesn't know who he is. A friend of his and a doctor find him, operates and tells him that he was presumed dead and his wife is remarried, happy and with children. Merline knows if he turned up his wife would be convicted of bigamy, her children would be labeled illegitimate and much unhappiness would ensue.

Fast forward about 25 years. Merline has been under a pseudonym in the French Foriegn Legion all this time.

What follows is a super fantastic story. I can't say any more really without ruining it (because I know all of you are going to run right out and get it:).

Anyway, the last chapter is called "No Greater Love." That should give some hints.

I loved it. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait to share it with...well, anyone--but I particularly want my boys to read it.

[Pierre Stolte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wages of Virtue is excruciatingly transparent in its plot devices, now, in the 21st Century. At the time they probably elicited loud exclamations of "NO!" but today we can see them coming well in advance. The joy is in the trip getting there. Despite his casual racism, colonialism, and sexism, Wren produced fun, readable adventures.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was a terrible book. seemed like a screen play, a very bad one. the author tried to be humorous but failed. I guess there was some kind of a plot in there but I could not find it. and to think that they made a movie based on it with Gloria Swanson in it.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. finished around December.