The Old Lie

Long unavailable, this acclaimed book traces the history of an ideal and examines its effect on the lives of those caught up in the First World War. Rupert Brooke's apparent enthusiasm for the War in 1914 was echoed throughout England, particularly by young men who had been educated in a gentlemanly tradition of patriotism, chivalry and sportsmanship at their public schools. These codes had also trickled down through society thanks to the school stories that appeared in popular boys' magazines, and to the missions and boys' clubs run by the schools and universities in the poorer parts of the country. Drawing upon a wealth of material, Peter Parker's fascinating book traces the growth and dissemination of what Wilfred Owen dismissed as 'the old lie' in his poem Dulce Et Decorum Est. It also explores the wide variety of responses to the war - from celebration to denigration, from patriotic acquiescence to bitter rebellion - as they were reflected in the poetry, plays and prose of the period. The Old Lie unearths some truly bizarre notions about education and warfare and illuminatingly re-examines the literature of the First World War by placing it in its historical and social perspective.

'Set in an intergalactic war, this powerful story is told from multiple viewpoints and delivers an emotionally wrenching impact.' - Sally Morgan, author of the bestselling Australian classic MY PLACE Shane Daniels and Romany Zetz have been drawn into a war that is not their own. Lives will be destroyed, families will be torn apart. Trust will be broken. When the war is over, some will return to a changed world. Will they discover that glory is a lie? Claire G. Coleman's new novel takes us to a familiar world to ask what we have learned from the past. The Old Lie might not be quite what you expect. **Includes bonus chapters from the bestselling and award-winning Terra Nullius** Praise for Terra Nullius: 'surprising and unforgettable' - Publisher's Weekly 'moving and original' - Weekend Australian 'impossible to ignore' - Books and Publishing 'unflinching' - Sydney Review of Books 'timely' - Adelaide Review

Shane Daniels and Romany Zetz have been drawn into a war that is not their own. Lives will be destroyed, families will be torn apart. Trust will be broken. When the war is over, some will return to a changed world. Will they discover that glory is a lie? Claire G. Coleman's new novel takes us to a familiar world to ask what we have learned from the past. The Old Lie might not be quite what you expect. **Includes bonus chapters from the bestselling and award-winning Terra Nullius** Praise for Terra Nullius: 'surprising and unforgettable' - Publisher's Weekly 'moving and original' - Weekend Australian 'impossible to ignore' - Books and Publishing 'unflinching' - Sydney Review of Books 'timely' - Adelaide Review

“The very content of Owen’s poems was, and still is, pertinent to the feelings of young men facing death and the terrors of war.” —The New York Times Book Review Wilfred Owen was twenty-two when he enlisted in the Artists’ Rifle Corps during World War I. By the time Owen was killed at the age of 25 at the Battle of Sambre, he had written what are considered the most important British poems of WWI. This definitive edition is based on manuscripts of Owen’s papers in the British Museum and other archives.

The horrors of the First World War released a great outburst of emotional poetry from the soldiers who fought in it as well as many other giants of world literature. Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke and W B Yeats are just some of the poets whose work is featured in this anthology. The raw emotion unleashed in these poems still has the power to move readers today. As well as poems detailing the miseries of war there are poems on themes of bravery, friendship and loyalty, and this collection shows how even in the depths of despair the human spirit can still triumph.

Reproduction of the original: Poems by Wilfred Owen