Trooper Jackson's Story

Well-known I'm sure but worth buying in reissued form. It's set before and then during the first year of the First World War contrasting the Yorkshire England of Sam's youth with war-destroyed France and Belgium. A contrast too between Sam's dreams of being a dashing cavalry trooper and the reality of struggling behind German lines with a mixed group of exhausted French soldiers. The reality of war, death and destruction fits slightly strangely with the old-fashioned style - men dashing around being adventurous, driven by bonds of love and honour. Though slightly flattened by the conventional plotting and characterisation this is a story strong enough to engage third-year boys and the new packaging will help.