Memoirs of an Infantry Officer

First illustrated edition (1931) published by Faber & Faber

Memoirs of an Infantry Officer is a novel by Siegfried Sassoon, first published in 1930. It is a fictionalised account of Sassoon's own life during and immediately after World War I. Soon after its release, it was heralded as a classic and was even more successful than its predecessor, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man.

Synopsis

Sassoon's account of his experiences in the trenches during World War I, between the spring of 1916 and the summer of 1917, creates a picture of a physically brave but self-effacing and highly insecure individual. The narrative moves from the trenches to the Fourth Army School, to Morlancourt and a raid, then to and through the Somme. [1]

The book finishes as George Sherston prepares to attend 'Slateford War Hospital' (Craiglockhart War Hospital, Edinburgh) after a medical board had decided he was suffering from shell-shock.

Reviews

'A book of deep beauty and abiding significance. A book which will, I hope and believe, be read by millions.' - Harold Nicholson

'Those who in future really want to understand the atmosphere of the years 1916 and 1917, and the conditions of life, will turn back to this book.' - Daily Telegraph

Notes

Sassoon presented his own experiences in novelistic form and therefore opted to use pseudonyms in place of names in his "George Sherston" trilogy (George Sherston being Sassoon's alter ego). Other notable characters in the book include Sassoon's contemporary Robert Graves, who appears in the book as 'David Cromlech', and 'Dick Tiltwood' (Sassoon's pseudonym for David Thomas).

External links

• A review of the novel