The Four Feathers [Hardcover]

A. E. W. Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1993

English officer and gentleman Harry Feversham has wealth, social position, a beautiful fianc?e, Ethne Eustace, and a brotherly bond with three close friends. But he also harbors a dark secret. Though he is expected to continue his family?s proud tradition of military service, he cannot forget the shameful stories he heard as a child: tales of men who shirked their duty and disgraced themselves in battle. Fearing he too will flee from combat, Harry resigns his commission when his regiment is ordered to the war-torn Sudan. Following this decision, he receives a white feather ? symbolizing cowardice ? from each of his friends, and a fourth from Ethne. To redeem himself in their eyes, and his own, he embarks on an epic quest, traveling alone to Africa disguised as an Arab. As Harry endures desert heat, raging enemies, and the hellish prison known as the House of Stone, his heroic exploits become the stuff of legend. Originally published in 1902, The Four Feathers, A. E. W. Mason?s best-known novel of adventure and romance, explores a plethora of complex moral issues within a framework of exotic intrigue and breakneck action. What is courage? What is cowardice? What is loyalty? And how do we balance the conflicting demands of country, family, friends, lovers, and one?s own ideals?

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Mason's 1902 classic adventure about British army officer Harry Feversham's endeavor to overcome the false label of "coward" is back again in an affordable paperback. Although this has already been filmed at least four times, it is about to go before the cameras once again, so be sure to have a few copies on your shelves.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"Action on every page. Maybe in every paragraph."--Kirkus Reviews on Larry Bond's First Team

 

"The technothriller has a new ace and his name is Larry Bond."--Tom Clancy

 

"[A] fast-paced, complex thriller." --Publishers Weekly on Larry Bond's First Team: Angels of Wrath

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Buccaneer Books (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568492111
• ISBN-13: 978-1568492117
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Real Four Feathers - Different Than the Movie Versions, August 23, 2002

By 

Roger Kennedy (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Four Feathers (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is full of noble ideas and notions of Victorian honor in the days of the British Empire. Those who come to this book after seeing the 1939 Korda classic, or even the more stark 1979 re-make might be in for a suprise. Even as this review is written yet another cineamtic foray is being planned with a Fall 2002 re-re-make. No doubt 21st century notions of Political Correctness shall be heavy handed on this 19th Century classic.

Still, I think readers will be in for a bit of a disappointment here. Not for the book itself which is a sublime piece of writing, a work typical ot the pathos of the time, but because of the lack of action contained therein. This is a pyschological and emotional work. The main charcters have many inner feelings to deal with. The plot moves slowly at times, building to a gradual crescendo typical of Victorian novels of the day before it resolves itself in rapid sequences.

The film versions convey the general impression of the book, but there are not big clamatic battles of Omdurman or prison breaks which made the Korda movie such a rousing epic. Here Harry Faversham is very much on his own to resolve his fears and inner emotions, as are his friends. Its good to see a book like this revived, but readers who come to it from the movie theater or video are apt to be suprised at what they find here. Lets hope the find the suprise a pleasant and interesting one. I know I did.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest Book Forgotten and Misunderstood, December 13, 2001

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Four Feathers (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

The front cover of the book might lead you to misunderstanding that "Four Feathers" is a book about war; actually, though it deals with the war in the Sudan in late 19th century, the book consists of superb descriptions of complicated psychology found in the hero, the heroine and their mutual friend. "Four Feathers" as a whole is not a book like "She" or "Beau Geste," but it is rather a special kind of romance which could be found only in this era.

To disprove his disgrace, the hero Harry Feversham, who quit his regiment just before being sent to the Sudan, decides to go to Africa, disguising himself as a Greek, and firmly is determined to give back three white feathers sent to him as a symbol of his being a coward. One clever touch is given here; his fiancee also added one feather to them, and rejected him in the face before their marriage. Now you think Harry must prove that he does not deserve such an act. And probably, you expect the book to draw you into the world full of adventure. No, you're wrong.

There are certainly descriptions of adventure under the sizzling sun of Africa, but you must wait. Before they come, we are introduced to the complex relationship between Harry and other characters that are involved in his action. Various feelings of love, regret, courage, and suspicion, all caused as aftermath of the crucial action of sending white feathers, follow with a surprisingly and deeply psychological insight. Though the story is, as you expect, very melodramatic and sentimental, the characters are well-drawn and convincing, and if not as insightful as Henry James, surely deserves much serious attention.

The adventure scenes come in the last third of the book, but the suspense is a little diminished due to the rather hasty ending of the book. (If you want to read a book full of adventure in Africa, I recommend P. C. Wren's "Beau Geste," which I found a gripping tale, too.) Still, the descriptions of the House of Stone, concentration camp of POW, (where the author himself visited after the war ended) are still realistic and shocking, and will haunt your mind after reading, and as an adeventure story too, you won't be disappointed. In short, "Four Feathers" is one of the greatest forgotten bestsellers in the English literature.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars butchered version of a great classic, November 3, 1999

By 

Michael A. Kalm (Salt Lake City, Utah, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Four Feathers (Hardcover)

This book is NOT Four Feathers. It may be Two and one half feathers. It is mercilessly abridged, but if you haven't seen the original, you won't know how you are being cheated. Be warned and stay away.