Covenant with Death
Published on 4. September 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
520 pages
978-0-7515-5712-1 (ISBN)
Description
Stirringly told from the view of everyday soldiers, Covenant with Death is acclaimed as one of the greatest novels about war ever written. With a new foreword by Louis de Bernieres, author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
They joined for their country. They fought for each other.
When war breaks out in 1914, Mark Fenner and his Sheffield friends immediately flock to Kitchener's call. Amid waving flags and boozy celebration, the three men - Fen, his best friend Locky and self-assured Frank, rival for the woman Fen loves - enlist as volunteers to take on the Germans and win glory.
Through ramshackle training in sodden England and a stint in arid Egypt, rebellious but brave Fen proves himself to be a natural leader, only undermined by on-going friction with Frank. Headed by terse, tough Sergeant Major Bold, this group of young men form steel-strong bonds, and yearn to face the great adventure of the Western Front.
Then, on one summer's day in 1916, Fen and his band of brothers are sent to the Somme, and this very ordinary hero discovers what it means to fight for your life.
'Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought'
The Times
'The last line ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so'
Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail
An anti-war book right up there with Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front
Shortlist (The Greatest War Novels of all Time)
'Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme'
Christopher Hitchens, Guardian
'The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism'
The Times
'Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris'
The Western Front Organisation
'A superb novel'
Daily Mirror
'John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme'
The Atlantic
'True and terrible'
Observer
'An outstanding achievement'
Sunday Express
They joined for their country. They fought for each other.
When war breaks out in 1914, Mark Fenner and his Sheffield friends immediately flock to Kitchener's call. Amid waving flags and boozy celebration, the three men - Fen, his best friend Locky and self-assured Frank, rival for the woman Fen loves - enlist as volunteers to take on the Germans and win glory.
Through ramshackle training in sodden England and a stint in arid Egypt, rebellious but brave Fen proves himself to be a natural leader, only undermined by on-going friction with Frank. Headed by terse, tough Sergeant Major Bold, this group of young men form steel-strong bonds, and yearn to face the great adventure of the Western Front.
Then, on one summer's day in 1916, Fen and his band of brothers are sent to the Somme, and this very ordinary hero discovers what it means to fight for your life.
'Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought'
The Times
'The last line ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so'
Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail
An anti-war book right up there with Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front
Shortlist (The Greatest War Novels of all Time)
'Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme'
Christopher Hitchens, Guardian
'The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism'
The Times
'Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris'
The Western Front Organisation
'A superb novel'
Daily Mirror
'John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme'
The Atlantic
'True and terrible'
Observer
'An outstanding achievement'
Sunday Express
Reviews / Votes
Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought * The Times * The last line ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so -- Peter Hitchens * Daily Mail * An anti-war book right up there with Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front * Shorlist (The Greatest War Novels of All Time) * Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme -- Christopher Hitchens * Guardian * The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism * The Times * A superb novel * Daily Mirror * John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme * The Atlantic * True and terrible * Observer * An outstanding achievement * Sunday Express * Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris * The Western Front Organisation * Laden with knowledge yet sparely written, Covenant with Death is the work of an author immersed in the lives of those who fought * The Times * The last line 'Two years in the making. Ten minutes in the destroying. That was our history', ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so -- Peter Hitchens * Daily Mail * The last line 'Two years in the making. Ten minutes in the destroying. That was our history', ought to be carved in stone somewhere . . . Find it. Read it. You'll be a better person for having done so -- The Greatest War Novels of all Time * Shortlist * Covenant With Death . . . showed with unbearable actuality what happened to a newly formed Sheffield regiment on the first day of the battle of the Somme -- Christopher Hitchens * Guardian * The blood and guts, the nightmare stink of cordite . . . appalling realism * The Times * Only one novel about the war since 1945 has the power and feeling of veracity to compare with the works of the 1920s and 30s . . . Covenant with Death by John Harris * The Western Front Organisation * A superb novel * Daily Mirror * John Harris's neglected masterpiece of a novel, Covenant With Death, is the success that it is because it follows a group of Sheffield workers from their flag-waving sign-up to the hecatomb on the Somme * The Atlantic * True and terrible * Observer * An outstanding achievement * Sunday Express *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
366 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7515-5712-1 (9780751557121)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
John Harris was born in 1916 and grew up in South Yorkshire. He became a journalist and worked for the Rotherham Advertiser and the Sheffield Telegraph, joining the RAF as a corporal attached to the South African Air Force during the Second World War and returning to journalism when the war ended.
He became a full-time author after the success of his 1953 novel The Sea Shall Not Have Them, which was made into a film. He wrote more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction, including books under pseudonyms Max Hennessy and Mark Hebden. As Hebden he created the crime series featuring Inspector Pel, which his daughter Juliet continued after his death in 1991.
He became a full-time author after the success of his 1953 novel The Sea Shall Not Have Them, which was made into a film. He wrote more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction, including books under pseudonyms Max Hennessy and Mark Hebden. As Hebden he created the crime series featuring Inspector Pel, which his daughter Juliet continued after his death in 1991.