author
Frederic Manning
1882–1935
Best known for a vivid First World War novel that later became a classic, this Australian-born writer brought unusual honesty and intelligence to the lives of ordinary soldiers. His work is admired for its plainspoken realism, emotional depth, and sharp eye for the details of war.
4 Audiobooks
Eidola
by Frederic Manning
Scenes and Portraits
by Frederic Manning
The Vigil of Brunhild: A Narrative Poem
by Frederic Manning
Poems
by Frederic Manning
About the author
Born in Sydney on July 22, 1882, Frederic Manning grew up in a prominent family but spent much of his childhood in fragile health. Much of his education was private, and as a young man he developed strong literary interests before eventually settling for long periods in England.
Manning wrote poetry, essays, and criticism, but he is remembered above all for The Middle Parts of Fortune (1929), a novel drawn in part from his own service in the First World War. He enlisted, served on the Western Front, and fought at the Somme, experiences that gave his writing its authority and its close attention to the daily life of common soldiers.
The novel first appeared under the pseudonym "Private 19022" and was later also published in a revised form as Her Privates We. Today it is widely regarded as one of the finest novels to come out of the war. Manning died in London on February 22, 1935, but his reputation has endured through a body of work that is spare, humane, and deeply observant.