The Four Feathers

A. E. W. Mason, 1902

Adventure

A young officer confronts the fear of cowardice within a family and social circle devoted to military honour.

Read the book Contents

Length: 34 chapters
Reading time: About 7 hr 28 min
Words: 106,546

About the book

General Feversham's guests bring the habits and memories of soldiering into his country house. Harry, his son, grows up under the weight of that inherited example. Years later, the expectations surrounding service have become part of his own adult relationships.

A resignation and the accusation of cowardice provide the novel's central predicament. Mason treats courage as a question of inward fear as well as outward conduct, giving adventure an intensely personal motive. The story asks how a reputation is formed, and what evidence might count when someone wants to challenge it.

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Adventure

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. A. E. W. Mason died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original dedication, acknowledgments.