I Shall Not Be Away Long - The First World War Letters of Lt Col Charles Bartlett

by Andrew Tatham (Author, Editor), Charles Bartlett, William Boyd (Foreword)

'Moving, powerful, important' - MICHAEL MORPURGO ---- 'A classic of its kind' - WILLIAM BOYD ---- A larger-than-life infantry officer's letters written from the Western Front to his West End actress wife from 1915 to 1917, visually presented with images of all the letters as well as pictures and detailed notes about the people and objects and events he encounters, showing how personal and family and war history connects through to today. Not only are the letters almost completely uncensored and full of incident described with directness and bluff humour, but the people mentioned along the way give a full spectrum of supporting characters, from Charles Bartlett's actress wife and their friends on the West End stage, to soldiers noted for their heroism or eccentricity or insubordination or complicated love lives (or combinations of all of these), to men avoiding conscription, to spies, royalty and a newspaper magnate. The letters give a portrait of a man, a marriage, and a time of traumatic uncertainty. Charles Bartlett is not an exemplary hero, but his flaws make him all the more human as he struggles through leading his Battalion at the Battles of Loos and the Somme and the frights and labours of life on the Western Front. A companion volume to Andrew Tatham's first book 'A Group Photograph - Before, Now & In-Between', it shares many of the same characters and explores the same ideas of what it is like to be a human being in any time, how our beliefs and hopes compare to reality, and what remains of us after we are gone. ---- A full-colour high-quality book with 527 vintage & contemporary pictures, images of 341 letters, and 26 maps.

464 pages, Paperback

Published November 6, 2020

Reviews

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another meticulously researched and beautifully presented First World War book by Andrew Tatham to go alongside 'A Group Photograph' by the same author.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book based around 341 letters sent home from a British officer serving in France from 1915-17. The letters are fascinating and stoically emotional, the meticulously added detail from the author is incredible, the presentation a work of art and more importantly this is a timely and humbling reminder of the nightmarish times the soldiers went through. A necessary and great addition to the books about WWI.