E. P. Dutton & Co., 1919, $?, ISBN:?, 248 pages, hardback

Written in the post-war euphoria, this novel follows the wartime exploits of a WWI French lieutenant serving aboard a cruiser in the Mediterranean Sea. It is jingoistic in the extreme, for a Frenchman can do no wrong, and ultra-patriotic as well, for every French sailor strains to do his duty without complaint and with complete attention to detail.

Uh-huh. Maybe it's something in the translation. Or maybe I'm looking at fiction from almost 100 years ago, and the overly sappy, melodramatic prose that may have been a bestseller back then simply drones on and on now.

In any case, the two battle scenes are passable, while the rest of the book plods on. Of note is the stoppage and search of a neutral steamer, where a German spy is discovered and taken. No shots or chase, just an obedient shuffle into custody.

This book is not about action, but feelings. It's about national pride, tedious duty, changing scenery on shore leave, and so on. This all sounds well and good until you actually read Milan's expressions.

From a culling of the library stacks, I bought this for I believe a dime. As I flipped to the back where the "Due Date" stamp appears, I noticed its popularity from 1920-22, briefly in 1934, and then Dec. 1940. And then nothing. Not once in 60 years...until it landed on my pile at the purchase counter.

This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com