Tunes of Glory (Paperback, Main)

A first novel plays out its small drama of the dissension within the barracks of a Highland regiment with authentic assurance (Kennaway was a Cameron Highlander), and the old warrior who swaggers and swears his way through the pages here is a figure you are unlikely to forget. Jock Sinclair, who had risen from the ranks and achieved a fine record as a Battalion Commander during the war, is not quite enough of a gentleman for the town and the county and is now to be succeeded as Colonel by an Eton and Oxford man, Barrow. Jock, who likes his men to drink and dance vigorously is quick to resent Barrow's refinement of these activities- or any changes in the Nattalion he considers his. Drinking more heavily, he makes his unsteady rounds from the mess to home to his mistress' lodgings and finally to a pub where he strikes a Corporal. As the incident becomes known, Barrow is reluctantly forced to launch an enquiry. Nervously, apologetically explaining this to Jock, trying to convey his own feeling for Jock and for the Battalion in which he too takes pride, Barrow fails- and commits suicide. And as Jock gives his orders for the unexpectedly elaborate ceremonial funeral to "all the tunes of glory"- still another tragedy is presaged. . . . A market- perhaps more a man's market- may be hard to find, but it tells a story of considerable strength and the old man will easily command your attention and affection. (Kirkus Reviews)

Lt. Colonel Jock Sinclair is a rough talking, whisky drinking soldier's soldier, a hero of the desert campaign who rose to his position through the ranks. Colonel Barrow, an officer graduate of Oxford and Sandhurst, had a wretched war in Japanese prison camps. But he has come to take command of the Battalion he has long admired, the one that Jock Sinclair has served in since he was a boy. In the claustrophobic world of Campbell barracks, a conflict is inevitable between the two men and a tragedy unfolds with concentrated and ferocious power. James Kennaway served in a Highland regiment himself, and his feeling for 'tunes of glory, for the glamour and brutality of army life gives added authenticity and humour to this, his first and most famous novel. He died in a car crash at the tragically early age of forty.

General

Imprint:	Canongate Books Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	July 2010
First published:	July 2010
Authors:	James Kennaway
Dimensions:	196 x 127 x 12mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	175
Edition:	Main
ISBN-13:	978-0-86241-223-4
Categories:	Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > War fiction > General
LSN:	0-86241-223-4
Barcode:	9780862412234

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