Her Privates We
1929
Frederic Manning
London: Peter Davies
Australian
Autobio Fiction
453pp
WWI, Gay Men, Military
Men are bound together more closely by the trivial experiences they have shared than by the most sacred obligations; and already his memory was haunted by outstretched hands seeking rescue from oblivion, and faces half-submerged to which he could give no name.
Summary
Censored edition of The Middle Parts of Fortune, still authored under Private 19022. Primarily depicts the mundane life of a private.
More Info
tbh i failed at a queer reading of this. it was only after i'd completed it that i read essays which mentioned manning's queerness, so your mileage may vary! this is still one of my fav wwi novels nevertheless.
Content & Trigger Warnings
(highlight to reveal)
Editions
London : Peter Davies, The Piazza Press (1929) Unexpurgated private printing. 520 copies. Seen here on Abebooks by Peter Harrington.
London : Peter Davies (1929) first edition cover. The dust cover—seen on this 1930 edition on Abebooks by John Atkinson Books—is of clear glassine with printed flaps.
London : Peter Davies (1930) 2nd and 3rd impressions have the same binding as the 1st with the tan cover. 4ths I'm unsure. The 5th impression is green and is seen on Abebooks by Darkwood Online T/A BooksinBulgaria.
New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons (1930) American first edition has the same tan cover as the British one. This is the edition I own. Later impressions seem to have a marbled red cover, like in this one on Abebooks by Banjo Booksellers.
Serpent's Tail (2013) edition is unexpurgated.