author
Louis Keene
A Canadian artist and soldier, he turned his World War I experience into a vivid firsthand account of trench life. His writing is direct, observant, and shaped by the eye of someone who also spent years making visual art.
1 Audiobook
"Crumps", The Plain Story of a Canadian Who Went
by Louis Keene
About the author
Born in London in 1888, Louis Keene spent part of his youth in South Africa and much of his life in Canada. Sources on his life describe him as both an artist and a soldier, and note that he studied art in London, Paris, and Munich.
He is best known in the book world for Crumps, The Plain Story of a Canadian Who Went, a World War I narrative published in the early twentieth century and preserved by Project Gutenberg and the Library of Congress. His military record is also reflected in Canadian Great War Project material, which lists him as an artist when he enlisted.
Later accounts of his life say he continued combining military service with art, producing work in watercolor, ink, pencil, and chalk. He died in 1972, leaving behind a reputation tied both to war writing and to Canadian art.