Overview

Hundreds of Australian first-person narratives of World War I have been published, but none more riveting than this one. The wartime letters and diaries of Pompey Elliott, Australia's most famous fighting general, are exceptionally forthright. They are also remarkably illuminating about his volatile emotions. Pompey not only wrote frankly about what happened to him and the men he was commanding; he was also frank about what he felt about both. Having arranged a no-secrets pact with his wife for their correspondence before he left Australia in 1914, he adhered to that agreement throughout the conflict. Moreover, Pompey expressed himself with vivid candour in his diaries and other correspondence. He wrote rapidly and fluently, with fertile imagery, a flair for simile, and an engaging turn of phrase. His extraordinary letters to his young children turned even the Western Front into a bedtime story. Pompey was prominent in iconic battles and numerous controversies. He was wounded at the Gallipoli landing, and four of his men were awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery at Lone Pine. No one was more instrumental than Pompey in turning looming defeat into stunning victory at both Polygon Wood and Villers-Bretonneux. No Australian general was more revered by those he led or more famous outside his own command. Ross McMullin, the author of the award-winning and best-selling biography Pompey Elliott, has collected Pompey's words from a variety of sources and shaped them into a compelling narrative. This book will transform our awareness of Pompey's importance in the dramatic final year of World War I.

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9781947534209

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Reviews

'Now ... a new readership can learn of an exceptional military leader and larger-than-life personality ... Because Elliott was such a diligent, expressive and honest diarist, correspondent and report writer, this gathering of pure-grade historical evidence captures his character in some senses better than any biographical estimate.' --Michael Piggott Honest History

'Now ... a new readership can learn of an exceptional military leader and larger-than-life personality ... Because Elliott was such a diligent, expressive and honest diarist, correspondent and report writer, this gathering of pure-grade historical evidence captures his character in some senses better than any biographical estimate.'--Michael Piggott Honest History

'Elliott is often observant, like his skilled biographer Ross McMullin.' --Geoffrey Blainey Australian Book Review 'McMullin chose 1105 excerpts from Elliott's letters, diary, speeches and battle reports that reveal the wartime thoughts of the revered, charismatic, controversial and successful soldier.' --Ballarat Courier 'McMullin published an award-winning biography of Elliott in 2002. Now he has gathered the wartime letters and diaries of this fighting general to let him tell his own story.' --Weekend Australian 'Organising the vast reservoir of material into a readable format can't have been easy but McMulin has done an outstanding job.' --Australian Defence Magazine 'Now ... a new readership can learn of an exceptional military leader and larger-than-life personality ... Because Elliott was such a diligent, expressive and honest diarist, correspondent and report writer, this gathering of pure-grade historical evidence captures his character in some senses better than any biographical estimate.' --Michael Piggott Honest History

Now...a new readership can learn of an exceptional military leader and larger-than-life personality...Because Elliott was such a diligent, expressive and honest diarist, correspondent and report writer, this gathering of pure-grade historical evidence captures his character in some senses better than any biographical estimate. --Michael Piggott, Honest History Organising the vast reservoir of material into a readable format can't have been easy but McMulin has done an outstanding job. --Australian Defence Magazine McMullin published an award-winning biography of Elliott in 2002. Now he has gathered the wartime letters and diaries of this fighting general to let him tell his own story. --Weekend Australian McMullin chose 1105 excerpts from Elliott's letters, diary, speeches and battle reports that reveal the wartime thoughts of the revered, charismatic, controversial and successful soldier. --Ballarat Courier Elliott is often observant, like his skilled biographer Ross McMullin. --Geoffrey Blainey, Australian Book Review

Author Information

Ross McMullin is an award-winning historian, biographer, and storyteller. Life So Full of Promise is his sequel to Farewell, Dear People: biographies of Australia's lost generation, which won national awards, including the Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History. His biographies include Pompey Elliott, which also won multiple awards, and Will Dyson: Australia's radical genius, and he assembled Elliott's extraordinary letters in Pompey Elliott at War: in his own words. His political histories comprise The Light on the Hill and So Monstrous a Travesty: Chris Watson and the world's first national labour government. During the 1970s he played first-grade district cricket in Melbourne.

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