The First Casualty by Ben Elton

OK. This is a book by a comedian, about a very sombre subject but is not the first time that Elton has ventured into the world of the ‘Great War’. I’m sure that most people out there have enjoyed the goings ons of Captain Blackadder and Private Baldrick in the final series of the eponymous BBC comedy, co-written by none other than Elton. And it’s not surprising that Elton feels strongly about the subject as you find out on the dedications page that his grandfathers fought in the trenches of both sides so it’s clear from the outset that it’s going to be a very personal piece of work.

The basic outline of the story is a murder mystery, set amongst the violence and horror of trench warfare in Belgium during 1917 with the war rolling on industrially. Viscount Abercrombie, son of the Tory Chief Whip is mysteriously murdered whilst recuperating from shell shock after a heroic account at a previous battle. Enter inspector Kingsley, our main character, a man with very modern attitudes towards the futility of the war. The story starts with his trial and incarceration and progresses through to the solving of the murder with a healthy mix of spies, intrigue, horror and even a sprinkling of romance, before ending with an excellent plot twist that I really wasn’t expecting. The opening trial is for being a conscientious objector with no moral or religious grounds and begins the moral exploration of different attitudes towards the war. This exploration is challenging but fascinating and for me the highlight of the book, demonstrating a wide range of scholarship on the part of the author. How should we judge morality in the midst of a conflict that seems to redefine the accepted moral codes of Victorian and Edwardian England?

The book is excellent and incredibly readable. This is the second book of his that I’ve read (The other being inconceivable – also really good!) and they both keep you interested with a lightness of touch that makes a change from the heavier books that I often find myself reading. He manages to give a very moving and throat-catching depiction of the horror and humanity of World War One without becoming morbid or depressing, a very difficult thing to achieve, and something that resonates very poignantly with the current conflict in Afghanistan without being militaristic or jingoistic. There’s also no misty eyed view of the heroic British Tommy that it would probably have been all too easy to fall into.

This book is well worth reading and will inform, challenge and even entertain in equal measure. If you do read and enjoy it, try following it up with Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (though be aware that this one IS harder going).

There, I have reviewed a book. Not sure what will come next, it’s a toss up between some in-depth theoretical Fantasy, another Faulks or the lighter French anti-hero to Sherlock Holmes.