And in the Morning: A Novel of Love and War

by G.M. Hague

This is the story of two brothers, Jonathon and Joseph White, who are caught up in the excitement of the new war in Europe in 1914 and enlist to fight the Hun. Amidst the horror of the battlefields, a love story begins. Rose is a volunteer in the Nurses Corps and risks her life close to the fighting working among the wounded and the dying.

Meeting Jonathon makes Rose realise that life is bittersweet – time is precious and falling in love may be a hopeless and painful experience. Surely no one could survive the killing in the trenches? Perhaps Rose herself won't survive the war to end all wars?

From the first landings on 25th April 1915 to the battlefields of France and Armistice Day 1918, And In The Morning is a uniquely Australian novel of war, love and courage.

Genres: Historical Fiction

598 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Zitong Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

And in the Morning is a tale that tells the story of Australian evolvement in The Great War. It is a well written, well researched, in depth work that centres its tale on two Australian brothers, and the people surrounding them in the war from fellow comrades, officers and lovers. It takes off from the Gallipoli campaign against the Ottoman Empire with the last phase on the book telling the brutal shelling and advance of the German Spring Offensive of 1918.

There were some things that I did find strange, with I do believe attribute to the author’s writing style, which is fine, I’m simply here to express my opinion. Throughout the book, there were times where the author would leave the end of a chapter with what seemed like a cliffhanger, like what many author’s tend to do. However, in this book, the consequences of the chapter would never be spoken about again which was simply weird. An instance was when two new recruits, a father and son arrived at Gallipoli. The son, Albert was killed and right at the end, the father blamed that he was not rescued sooner. The father is not mentioned again until the trenches of the Western Front in which he is killed at the start of the next chapter. In their case, I did not understand the need to bring in these two characters apart from more names and comrades of which there was enough for a stand alone book. The pacing is also odd at times, and the ending seemed a bit quick in my taste. The reader is thrown right at the beginning on the Spring Offensive and after that we have reached the Epilogue. We do not even hear the situation of the other brother, apart from the fact that they are safe, while Joseph flies his plane overhead waiting for the armistice and the fighting to end.

Pros: A good book that is well researched with believable characters.
Cons: Some unnecessary characters and plot hangers that are never explored plus an abrupt ending with odd pacing at times.
7.5/10

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a classic midday movie. 3.5 stars bumped up.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read. The story of brothers Jonathan and Joseph White from Western Australia is a sweeping saga of the First World War. Every page is brilliant: heroism, sacrifice, brutality, love, glory, loss...'And In The Morning' has everything. The final pages, dealing with the German Spring Offensive of 1918, was particularly gripping. A fitting tribute to the generation of Australians who went away to the Great War. Lest we forget.

[christine watmough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sorry to finish this book

I could not put it down, from start to finish I was enthralled. Very graphic and informative. I recommend this book