David Jones and the Great War

April 15, 2014
Starting in 1915, British artist and poet David Jones (1895-1974) served in the same regiment in France as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen (though at a lower rank). In nine chapters, Dilworth (English, Univ. of Windsor, Ont.) chronicles Jones's path from "Pre-war (1895-1914)" though action in the Somme, Ypres, and Passchendaele, through to his life as a disaffected veteran back home. Sketches (unfortunately all black and white) by the artist and period photographs depict the western front as well as French village life, Jones, and the men with whom he served. The soldier's poetry is sprinkled throughout, too. Art and history experts will appreciate that many of the images are previously unpublished, and the inclusion of seven sketches not available since the war. VERDICT For academic art and history collections and libraries that serve fervent amateur historians.--HV

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