Name: Covenant with Death By John Harris
SKU: 9780751557121
Price: 7.70 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

Covenant with Death Summary

Covenant with Death by John Harris

Stirringly told from the view of everyday soldiers, Covenant with Death is acclaimed as one of the greatest novels about war ever written. With a new foreword by Louis de Bernieres, author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

They joined for their country. They fought for each other.

When war breaks out in 1914, Mark Fenner and his Sheffield friends immediately flock to Kitchener's call. Amid waving flags and boozy celebration, the three men - Fen, his best friend Locky and self-assured Frank, rival for the woman Fen loves - enlist as volunteers to take on the Germans and win glory.

Through ramshackle training in sodden England and a stint in arid Egypt, rebellious but brave Fen proves himself to be a natural leader, only undermined by on-going friction with Frank. Headed by terse, tough Sergeant Major Bold, this group of young men form steel-strong bonds, and yearn to face the great adventure of the Western Front.

Then, on one summer's day in 1916, Fen and his band of brothers are sent to the Somme, and this very ordinary hero discovers what it means to fight for your life.

'Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought'
The Times

'The last line ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so'
Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail

An anti-war book right up there with Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front
Shortlist (The Greatest War Novels of all Time)

'Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme'
Christopher Hitchens, Guardian

'The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism'
The Times

'Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris'
The Western Front Organisation

'A superb novel'
Daily Mirror

'John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme'
The Atlantic

'True and terrible'
Observer

'An outstanding achievement'
Sunday Express

Covenant with Death Reviews

Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought * The Times *
The last line ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so -- Peter Hitchens * Daily Mail *
An anti-war book right up there with Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front * Shorlist (The Greatest War Novels of All Time) *
Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme -- Christopher Hitchens * Guardian *
The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism * The Times *
A superb novel * Daily Mirror *
John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme * The Atlantic *
True and terrible * Observer *
An outstanding achievement * Sunday Express *
Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris * The Western Front Organisation *
Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought * The Times *
The last line 'Two years in the making. Ten minutes in the destroying. That was our history', ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so -- Peter Hitchens * Daily Mail *
The last line 'Two years in the making. Ten minutes in the destroying. That was our history', ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so -- The Greatest War Novels of all Time * Shortlist *
Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme -- Christopher Hitchens * Guardian *
The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism * The Times *
Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris * The Western Front Organisation *
A superb novel * Daily Mirror *
John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme * The Atlantic *
True and terrible * Observer *
An outstanding achievement * Sunday Express *

About John Harris

John Harris was born in 1916 and grew up in South Yorkshire. He became a journalist and worked for the Rotherham Advertiser and the Sheffield Telegraph, joining the RAF as a corporal attached to the South African Air Force during the Second World War and returning to journalism when the war ended.

He became a full-time author after the success of his 1953 novel The Sea Shall Not Have Them, which was made into a film. He wrote more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction, including books under pseudonyms Max Hennessy and Mark Hebden. As Hebden he created the crime series featuring Inspector Pel, which his daughter Juliet continued after his death in 1991.

Additional information

Sku

GOR006113791

ISBN 13

9780751557121

ISBN 10

0751557129

Title

Covenant with Death by John Harris

Author

John Harris

Condition

Used - Very Good

Binding type

Paperback

Publisher

Little, Brown Book Group

Year published

2014-09-04

Number of pages

520

Prizes

N/A

Cover note

Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.

Note

This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Covenant with Death John Harris

Covenant with Death by John Harris

Summary

Covenant with Death Summary

Covenant with Death by John Harris

Covenant with Death Reviews

About John Harris

Additional information

Customer Reviews - Covenant with Death