AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 3875315668502766852.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One anthology   biography   novel   poetry   prose   autobiography   diary   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Around the country, bronze soldiers in slouch hats stand silently at attention. It is the Anzacs' remarkable writing that reveals the lives behind the national legend.

In the Trenches is a collection of gripping, awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying accounts of life at the front, recorded by those who lived through the fighting.

Drawn from diaries, memoirs and letters, as well as poetry, reportage and prose, this writing reminds us that the Anzac legend is rooted in real and tragic circumstances on a heartbreakingly human scale. Belying the common perception of the laconic digger, these compelling voices convey the range of wartime experience, from the desolation and horror to the unbridled excitement and camaraderie. Through it all runs the bleak toll on young lives.

Author and journalist Mark Dapin has selected writing from those on the frontlines as well as behind the scenes, from officers and soldiers to nurses, engineers and reporters, to create a volume that will be regarded as the definitive record of the personal experiences that forged the emerging national identities of Australia and New Zealand.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Includes Mark Dapin's introduction, titled 'The Things They Left Behind', pp. ix-xvii.
  • Only works by Australian authors individually indexed. Other works in this volume include:

    • 'From the Marne to the Aisne', an extract from A Surgeon in Khaki, by New Zealand author Arthur Anderson Martin (pp. 15-23)
    • 'A Man's Life : The Gallipoli Diary of William George Malone, 1915', from The Great Adventure: New Zealand Soldiers Describe the First World War (pp. 30-38)
    • 'Dear Skipper', by Robert James Capstick, from Letters from Gallipoli: New Zealand Soldiers Write Home (pp. 59-65)
    • 'Fricourt to Fleurs: 15th September 1916', by Alexander Aitken, from Gallipoli to the Somme: Recollections of a New Zealand Infantryman (pp. 204-212)
    • 'Pont Neippe', from the novel Civilian into Soldier, by the New Zealand author John A. Lee (pp. 253-259)
    • 'The Tragedy of Passchendaele', by Leonard Hart. From The Great Adventure: New Zealand Soldiers Describe the First World War (pp. 284-291)
    • 'In France', an extract from the autobiography We Will Not Cease, by the New Zealand conscientious objector Archibald Baxter (pp. 294-309)

Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Penguin , 2013 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Death's Meni"Under a grey October sky", W. J. Turner , single work poetry (p. 3-4)
Australia Answers the Call, Phillip F. E. Schuler , extract prose (p. 5-14)
The Day Beforei"We went out in the afternoon,", Harley Matthews , single work poetry war literature (p. 27-29)
The First Days, A. B. Facey , extract autobiography (p. 39-49)
Gallipoli Correspondent, C. E. W. Bean , extract diary (p. 51-58)
Anzac Covei"There's a lonely stretch of hillocks:", Leon Gellert , single work poetry war literature (p. 66)
Optimistic Days, Sydney de Loghe , extract novel (p. 67-72)
A Night Attacki"Be still. The bleeding night is in suspense", Leon Gellert , single work poetry war literature (p. 73)
Glimpses of Anzac, Hector Dinning , extract prose (p. 74-82)
In the Trenchi"Every night I sleep,", Leon Gellert , single work poetry war literature (p. 83)
Letters Home, Hubert Anthony , extract correspondence (p. 84-93)
The Diggersi"The diggers are digging, and digging deep.", Leon Gellert , single work poetry war literature (p. 94)
About the Troops, Keith Murdoch , extract correspondence (p. 95-102)
Poppiesi"Some scarlet poppies lay upon our right.", Leon Gellert , single work poetry war literature (p. 103)
The Forest of the Deadi"There are strange trees in that pale field", J. Griffyth Fairfax , single work poetry war literature (p. 107-108)
Hell-Fire Jack, A. B. Paterson , extract diary (p. 109-119)
The Wells of Beersheba, Frank Dalby Davison , extract novella (p. 120-129)
The Turkish Rear-Guard, Ion L. Idriess , extract autobiography (p. 130-135)
The Facei"Out of the smoke of men's wrath,", Frederic Manning , single work poetry war literature (p. 139)
When Blackbirds Sing, Martin Boyd , extract novel (p. 140-151)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 3875315668502766852.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 230p.
      ISBN: 1743483120, 9781743483121, 9780670077816 (hbk)
    • Scoresby, Ferntree Gully area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 3297037093958343568.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 432p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 25 March 2015
      ISBN: 9780143572428

Works about this Work

A Huge and Bloody Mistake Geoff Page , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 360 2014; (p. 24)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Bringing Up the Bodies Owen Richardson , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 25 January 2014; (p. 27)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Soldiers' Words an Enduring Memorial Peter Pierce , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 January 2014; (p. 16)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Military History Jenny Tabakoff , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 14 December 2013; (p. 32)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Military History Jenny Tabakoff , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 14 December 2013; (p. 32)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Soldiers' Words an Enduring Memorial Peter Pierce , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 January 2014; (p. 16)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Bringing Up the Bodies Owen Richardson , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 25 January 2014; (p. 27)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
A Huge and Bloody Mistake Geoff Page , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 360 2014; (p. 24)

— Review of From the Trenches : The Best Anzac Writing from World War One 2013 anthology biography novel poetry prose autobiography diary novel
Last amended 28 Jan 2015 11:29:35
X