
LOVE LETTERS - OF A - ROOKIE - To JULIE - by BARNEY STONE - HEADQUARTERS CO., 119 F.A. A.E.F. - ILLUSTRATIONS by GORDON ROSS
Dere Julie
Through a series of handwritten missives, a fresh‑off‑the‑boat private shares his uneasy first weeks at a World War I training camp with his beloved Julie. His letters tumble between earnest affection and comic bewilderment as he describes ragged meals, a billy‑goat mascot, and the strange etiquette of trench life. The narrator’s slangy charm—“dough‑boy,” “angel face,” and all—brings the era’s cadence to life while revealing the universal ache of being far from home.
Listeners are treated to a scrapbook of candid snapshots: a cake that never smells, a frozen haircut, and a dream of park benches without patrols. The humor never masks the underlying yearning, making the collection feel both lighthearted and sincere. It’s a glimpse into a soldier’s heart that balances wartime absurdity with timeless devotion, perfect for anyone who enjoys intimate, character‑driven storytelling.
Language
en
Duration
~54 minutes (52K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Michelle Croyle, William Flis, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
Release date
Apr 4, 2005
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

Best known for a funny, slang-filled World War I book, this early 20th-century writer turned a rookie soldier’s letters home into light, lively comedy. Very little biographical detail is easy to confirm, which gives the work an old-time literary mystery of its own.
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