ADVANCE INFORMATION

The Sins of Soldiersby S J Hardman Lea

A lot has been written about World War I. The daily torment and suffering of soldiers is well documented. Yet there are so many photographs and drawings of smiling soldiers, grouped together and posing for the camera, a sense of camaraderie that seems to be almost unnatural. Hardman Lea captures a perspective of the First World War that has until now been subjugated.

War is terrible and terrifying.

It is often boring.

War is depressing, frightening and horrific.

It is also exhilarating, inspiring, revelatory and funny.

War heightens the full spectrum of emotion: love, hate, friendship, desperation, envy and lust.

It is life changing.

A World War changes everything: all stories are possible.

Synopsis

It is 1916 and the war in France is raging. Embedded undercover in a British infantry regiment on the Western Front, Anson Scott, an American journalist, watches, waits and writes his articles in secret. But life in the trenches is far from what he had first expected. While the soldiers are raring to fight, the commanding officer is antiquated and the officers are divided. As the regiment readies itself for battle, Scott is in ever-greater danger. If his real occupation is discovered, he will be shot as a spy but his fraught relationships threaten to cause as much damage as his unmasking. Soon the opposing forces of love and hate are every bit as dangerous as the enemy gunfire, and the great battle on the Somme grows ever closer. Finally, the intensities of hope and fear cannot be evaded... The Sins of Soldiers is a blend of fact and fiction to create an original and realistic picture of the life, loves and the full spectrum of emotions and experiences of soldiers battling to survive during WWI.

About the Author

Simon Hardman Lea is a talented, hospital-based eye surgeon who lives and works in Suffolk but was originally educated in the USA, at Oxford and in London. He says:"Before I wrote The Sins of Soldiers, looking through photos of smiling soldiers, I came to the realisation that perhaps people deal with war as they do all other extreme challenges in life - taking refuge in the safety of routine, humour, friendship, love and hate. And in wartime, all those emotions are greater and brighter, more vivid and more exciting, to the point where many of those who survive find life afterwards dull and disappointing. I felt we have failed to appreciate some of those emotions and so, after years of collecting books and reading about life in and around the trenches, I decided to start writing a series of WW1 novels: this is my first."

Essential Details

Category:Historical Fiction

Publisher:Matador

ISBN:9781785890185

Format:Paperback & eBook

Available on Amazon & all good book shops

Price:£7.99

Release Date:January28^th2016

For more information, editorial opportunities, interview requests or review copies please get in touch with either Sam Batt or Helen Lewis:SamuelBatt@LiterallyPR.comorHelenLewis@LiterallyPR.com+44 (0) 8709 619 069

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