The Mountebank

In June 1919 a quiet writer receives an unexpected parcel—a lengthy, self‑written manuscript from Brigadier‑General Andrew Lackaday, a man who rose from private to the highest rank in a flash of wartime intrigue. The General confesses that he has deliberately excised the four‑and‑a‑half years of combat, treating that period as a “blank” and instead offering a candid, often comic glimpse into his life before and after the war, narrated in a blend of French‑tinged English and raw diary entries.

What follows is a lively collaboration between the General’s flamboyant recollections and the editor’s steady hand, as they sort through the chaotic pages, untangle absurd promotions, and expose the personal quirks hidden behind military ribbons. The result is a witty, reflective portrait of a man who, despite his medals, longs to be understood for the “somebody else” who lived beyond the battlefield.