Victory for the Slain by Hugh Lofting

Victory for the Slain by Hugh Lofting

Having served as an older man in Flanders during the First World War, Hugh Lofting, famed author of the Doctor Dolittle series, was pacifist by leaning. He knew intimately the horror of human killing human in what seemed an endless litany of the worst of us.

Then in 1942, in the midst of the unbelievable recurrence of war once again, and nearing the end of his life, the need to commit his feelings to paper became overwhelming. His passions and fears overflowed into a long poem, his only work for adults.

Victory for the Slain begins with him encountering and helping a soldier who is struggling to light a cigarette, having lost a hand. He walks on, musing on the maiming cost of martial conflict. His path takes him to a church, where, alone, and surrounded by the sense of the past, the terrible present with its constant aerial bombing, and apprehension for the future at this uncertain and perilous stage of the war, he registers quaveringly and with great emotion both how fearful he is and how appallingly foolish are the paths down which humankind's belligerence can take us.

Reflecting on history, philosophy, violence, nationalism, death, and what seems like madness, as he wanders through the quiet of the church he gravely sounds every vibration and implication of the horror which surrounds him in the world's current chaos. For him, there reverberates one heartrending refrain: in war, the only victors are the slain.

Hugh Lofting was born in Maidenhead in 1886. As a child he kept a miniature zoo and wildlife museum in his mother's linen cupboard and enjoyed making up stories for his family. He later studied engineering in London and the United States, and visited Canada, Africa and the West Indies. After his marriage in 1912 he settled in the United States. Hugh Lofting fought in the trenches during World War I and it was whilst observing the lack of compassion shown to the horses on the battlefields that the idea for Doctor Dolittle was born. He was the main character in letters Hugh sent home from the front to entertain his children. The successful publication of The Story of Doctor Dolittle in 1920 was followed by a further eleven books. In 1923 Hugh Lofting was awarded the Newbery Medal. He died in 1947.

Alan Bennett is one of Britain's best-loved and most highly acclaimed writers. He has written widely for radio, television and theatre. His latest play, The History Boys, won several awards, including Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Play and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. It also won six Tony Awards, including Best Play, following an extremely successful transfer to Broadway. In 2006 Bennett was named Author of the Year at the British Book Awards for Untold Stories, his collection of memoirs and diaries.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780648690948
ISBN 10	0648690946
Title	Victory for the Slain
Author	Hugh Lofting
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Michael Walmer
Year published	2023-07-25
Number of pages	72
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.