In Memoriam

World War I is the backdrop for this historical novel, following classmates Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood. When the book begins, the war is far from their boarding school in the English countryside, aside from learning about the death of deployed friends. Unbeknownst to each other, Gaunt and Ellwood secretly pine for one another, sure their feelings are unrequited. Gaunt, who is half-German, views enlistment as both an escape and a chance to counter the anti-German sentiment his family faces. Unfortunately for him, Ellwood enlists directly after, as do many of their classmates. A gritty, haunting novel that does not shy away from the horrors of war or the joys of first love.