Farewell The Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat (Helen and Kurt Wolff Books) [Paperback]

James Morris (Author)

Book Description

Series: Helen and Kurt Wolff Books | Publication Date: May 19, 1980

This concluding volume brings readers up to the death of Winston Churchill in 1965. "Morris has written an unorthodox masterpiece...[a] book filled with superb studies of battles, ceremonies, landscapes, confrontations and, above all, characters" (New York Times Book Review). Index. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jan Morris served as an intelligence officer with the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, studied at Oxford University, and was a reporter for the Times and the Guardian before launching into a successful career as a novelist, history author, and travel writer. Her other books include Last Letters from Hav, Fifty Years of Europe, Conundrum, Hong Kong, Oxford, The World of Venice, and Farewell the Trumpets.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (May 19, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156302861
• ISBN-13: 978-0156302869
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Final installment of a masterpiece, June 28, 2000

By 

John Andrew Miller (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farewell The Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat (Helen and Kurt Wolff Books) (Paperback)

Even if you haven't read the other two volumes in the Pax Britannica trilogy, Farewell the Trumpets is a must-buy. It's worth it just to read the brilliant eulogy for Winston Churchill, where in one chapter Morris does better job of capturing this man and his place in history than lesser authors could do in a whole volume.

My recommendation is to take your time and savor this book. Like Heaven's Command and Pax Britannica, Farewell the Trumpets is episodic in its presentation, each chapter a self-contained nugget, so that you can enjoy dipping into it frequently.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another cogent narrative of the Empire's decline., July 15, 1999

By 

Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Farewell The Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat (Helen and Kurt Wolff Books) (Paperback)

I just completed the final volume of James Morris' trilogy. The writing is superb. Although not as good as volume one (Heaven's Command), this book is well worth keeping. As usual; my only quibble is that there are no pictures in the Harcourt set that I have. That takes away a star.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 8, 2007

By 

M. Gillespie "amazonerguy" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Farewell The Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat (Helen and Kurt Wolff Books) (Paperback)

This is a fine ending to what is possibly my favorite series of books, Jan Morris' outstanding "Pax Britannica Trilogy." Although I suppose the book could be read in isolation, it will be greatly enhanced by having read the first two in the series, so if you haven't read them, stop now and go check out "Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress."

Okay. If you're reading on, I'll assume you've read the first two books. The third is more of the same: a similar structure, with subdivided chapters, and the book itself divided into three sections: Part One, THE GRAND ILLUSION: 1897-1918; Part Two, THE PURPOSE FALTERS: 1918-1939; and Part Three, FAREWELL THE TRUMPETS: 1939-1965. The chapters, as in the earlier books, showcase illuminating episodes in the Victorian British Empire: battles, personages, advances in technology, attitudes, etc. In this book, some of the highlights are the Boer War, the invasion of Tibet, Gallipoli, the R101 airship disaster, the move to Irish independence, and the end of the Raj in India.

The book is excellent and highly recommended, though I think it pales a bit compared to its predecessors. Part of that is inevitable, due to the subject matter: imperial retreat is bound to be a more subdued affair compared to the excitements of imperial expansion. It is a bit sad, having journeyed with this country through its imperial prime, to see it all evaporating so quickly -- even as Morris makes us well aware of the injustness and cruelties of imperialism that made its demise a net good for the world. Still, one can feel for the confusion and dislocation of a people as their world collapses around them.

Morris' writing remains strong and vivid in this book, but here too I think it is a bit more slack than in the previous entries -- there is a bit too much of the purple prose and embellishment that Morris would sometimes be criticized for in her later career. This is especially troubling as the book moves into territory more concrete and familiar to the modern reader: the World Wars, Winston Churchill, etc. Still, there are still many chapters that pack a tremendous punch, and rank among some of the best writing I've ever encountered.

Still and all, it's an excellent book and I'd encourage anyone to read it. There are thrilling stories here -- as well as the most delightful footnote I've ever read (you'll know it when you see it). Give it a try -- you won't be disappointed.