A History of the Great War is told through the eyes of Ida Hallam, a dowdy woman with slim prospects who, for all intents and purposes, is ‘left on the shelf’—until she catches the eye of the man she marries, Ralph Mitton.
A History of the Great War (Peter McConnell, Transit Lounge, $29.95 hb, ISBN 9780975022887, November) **
A History of the Great War is told through the eyes of Ida Hallam, a dowdy woman with slim prospects who, for all intents and purposes, is ‘left on the shelf’—until she catches the eye of the man she marries, Ralph Mitton. All is rosy until war breaks out and Ralph enlists, coming back a different man. The couple has two sons and Ida struggles to keep her family from sinking into destitution. Her passion for sewing and the support of friends are the things that keep her going. I really wanted to warm to this book, set in country Victoria during WWI. Perhaps it’s my own country roots that yearned for insight into a time I didn’t experience. Nevertheless, I didn’t gel with Ida and the constant change of reference to herself—Mrs Mitton, Ida, Mrs M—was quite disconcerting and her character rather one-dimensional. That said, McConnell’s strong imagery of the Gippsland countryside is beguiling and the addition of the character of Ida’s son Edward is a breath of fresh air. The title could also be seen as something of a misnomer, as it conjures up a nonfictional account.
Katie Horner is editorial assistant at Bookseller+Publisher