The Middle of the Road

In a nutshell, a major in the army (WW1) returns home to a changed England. His comrades, heroes in the war, are now begging in the street, unable to find work.

With no job, Bertrand is forced to live off his society wife who no longer desires his company. One of his sisters marries an Irish radical, another, a German. His brother becomes a member of the black and tans. In a world where everyone is taking sides, Bertrand strives to walk the precarious "middle of the road" and fits in nowhere.

This is a novel about the upheaval of war. In personal lives as well as countries. The poverty of England, destruction of France, starvation in Russia etc

Philip gibbs was a war correspondent who refused to come home when the government called him back. He wanted to show people the uncensored truth of what was happening. He wrote dozens of nonfiction and fiction books and in this novel alone, opened my eyes to things I was totally unaware of. Written at a time that was decidedly one sided, Gibbs manages to stay admirably broad minded and fair.