First Casualty, The

First Casualty, The
Ben Elton
RRP:
NZ$ 24.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 19.99
Paperback
h198 x 127mm - 448pg
3 May 2006 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9780552771306
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, is charged with the murder. Douglas Konig is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released and sent to France in order to secure a conviction. Forced to conduct his investigations amidst the hell of The Third Battle of Ypres, Konig soon discovers that both the evidence and the witnesses he needs are quite literally disappearing into the mud That'surrounds him. Ben Elton's tenth novel is a gut-wrenching historical drama that explores some fundamental questions: What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle? As the gap between legally sanctioned and illegal murder becomes ever more blurred, Konig quickly learns that the first casualty, when war comes, is truth.
" A work of formidable imaginative scope the writing is so good, the language so surprisingly subtle and the characters so beautifully delineated." -- "Daily Telegraph "" Riveting action scenes bristle with a queasy energy unputdownable and disgustingly realistic." -- "Sunday Telegraph" "From the Paperback edition."
BEN ELTON's career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight's the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous, High Society and Past Mortem.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780552771306
Published: 3 May 2006
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Black Swan
Publisher: Transworld Publishers
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 127mm
Pages: 448
Dewey: 823.914

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