Passport to hell : the story of James Douglas Stark, bomber, Fifth Reinforcement, New Zealand Expeditionary Forces / Robin Hyde ; edited and introduced by D.I.B. Smith.
Material type: TextPublisher: Auckland, New Zealand : Auckland University Press, 2015Description: xxxi, 311 p. ; 20 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781869408398 (pbk.)
Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Fiction | Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction | 940.481 STA | 1 | Available | T00589175 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Passport to Hell is the story of James Douglas Stark--"Starkie"--and his war. Journalist and novelist Robin Hyde came across Starkie while reporting in Mt Eden Gaol in the 1930s and immediately knew she had to write his "queer true terrible story." Born in Southland and finding himself in early trouble with the law, the young Starkie tricked his way into a draft in 1914 by means of a subterfuge involving whisky and tea. He had a subsequent checkered career in Egypt, Gallipoli, Armentières, the Somme, and Ypres. Hyde portrays a man carousing in the brothels of Cairo and the estaminets of Flanders; looting a dead man's money-belt and filching beer from the Tommies; attempting to shoot a sergeant through a lavatory door in a haze of absinthe, yet carrying his wounded captain back across No Man's Land; a man recommended for the V.C. and honored for his bravery--but also subject to nine court martials. It is a portrait of a singular individual who has also been described as the quintessential New Zealand soldier.
First published: 1936.
New Zealand author.
Includes bibliographical references. This man is the biggest, laziest, rottenest, most troublesome- And in the trenches he's one of the best soldiers I ever had.' Passport to Hell is the story of James Douglas Stark-Starkie-and his war. Journalist and novelist Robin Hyde came across Starkie while reporting in Mt Eden Gaol in the 1930s and immediately knew she had to write his 'queer true terrible story'. The result was greeted by John A. Lee, war veteran, author and politician, as 'the most important New Zealand war book yet published'. Hyde took the raw horrors, respites and reversals of Starkie's experiences and composed a work of literature much greater than a mere documentary of war. She portrays a man looting a dead man's money-belt and filching beer from the Tommies; attempting to shoot a sergeant in a haze of absinthe, yet carrying his wounded captain back across No Man's Land; a man recommended for the V.C. and honoured for his bravery - but also subject to nine courts martial. In its psychological acuity and emotional depth, Passport to Hell is one of the finest war books we have.
"This man is the biggest, laziest, rottenest, most troublesome- And in the trenches he's one of the best soldiers I ever had.' Passport to Hell is the story of James Douglas Stark - 'Starkie' - and his war. Journalist and novelist Robin Hyde came across Starkie while reporting in Mt Eden Gaol in the 1930s and immediately knew she had to write his 'queer true terrible story'. The result was greeted by John A. Lee, war veteran, author and politician, as 'the most important New Zealand war book yet published'. Hyde took the raw horrors, respites and reversals of Starkie's experiences and composed a work of literature much greater than a mere documentary of war. She portrays a man looting a dead man's money-belt and filching beer from the Tommies; attempting to shoot a sergeant in a haze of absinthe, yet carrying his wounded captain back across No Man's Land; a man recommended for the V.C. and honoured for his bravery - but also subject to nine court martials. In its psychological acuity and emotional depth, Passport to Hell is one of the finest war books we have"--Publisher's description.
5 7 13 18 19 27 64 68 82 96 98 100 103 105 111 115 127 138 147 159 177
WWI
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Introduction (p. vii)
- Passport to Hell
- Author's Note (p. 3)
- Introduction to Starkie (p. 5)
- 1 Making of an Outlaw (p. 13)
- 2 Good-bye Summer (p. 35)
- 3 Ring and Dummy (p. 51)
- 4 Cup for Youth (p. 66)
- 5 The Khaki Place (p. 74)
- 6 Conjurer and Pigeon (p. 87)
- 7 Dawn's Angel (p. 104)
- 8 Bluecoat (p. 121)
- 9 Court Martial (p. 137)
- 10 The Noah's Ark Country (p. 145)
- 11 Suicide Club (p. 158)
- 12 Brothers (p. 175)
- 13 Passport to Hell (p. 192)
- 14 Le Havre (p. 203)
- 15 Runaway's Odyssey (p. 218)
- 16 Rum for His Corpse (p. 231)
- 17 Sunshine (p. 242)
- 18 London and Laurels (p. 252)
- 19 Last Reveille (p. 271)
- Notes (p. 280)
- Bibliography (p. 309)