Andrew Tatham, "I Shall Not Be Away Long"

[Moonraker]

I've noticed several good reviews of this book, including one of two pages in today's Sunday Times' "Culture". It's based on the letters to his wife of Lt Col Charles Bartlett, who commanded the 8th Royal Berkshire at Loos and the Somme. One letter reports: "I started with 360 men and now can only find 12". Another welcomes the new tin helmets that "have saved any number of lives, and it seems a pity we did not have them before".

 

Bartlett appears to have been a sympathetic officer when it came to his men having self-inflicted wounds and to their travelling and billeting conditions.

 

The letters benefit from not having been censored.

 

The mainly complimentary review in "Culture" concludes with a curiously picky comment  that "the virtual absence of the voices of combatants except commissioned officers is glaring. It is also inexcusable."

 

Heck, the book  already runs to 464 pages ...

 

Author's website

[Michelle Young]

Thank you for this, the in laws normally give us money as a festive gift, so will order this as a joint present. 

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear All,

I will get my dynamic German daughter-in-law to rustle up copies of A Group Photograph, and Before, Now & In-Between,,,!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[Black Maria]

Ordered my copy yesterday . I was quite amused by a 'review' on Amazon which said the book was " a bit pricey " and more for "dipping into than a good read" .

The author replied that he had spent 3 years without income working on it and invested nearly £6,000 of his own money into the project ( it cost £29,000 in total )

and he would be interested to hear more from the 'reviewer' when they had " got further through the book " . I thought he kept his cool very well !

 

[Black Maria]

Just received my copy and i'm very impressed with it's quality and layout . Worth every penny of £30 IMHO . Looking forward to reading it !

Edited 16 December , 2020 by Black Maria

[AndrewTatham]

Thank you for your kind comments on here about my book - and also about how I handled that 'review'! I certainly had to work on my phrasing in my comment on that because as you might have guessed, my true feelings were unprintable. I've now been told by Amazon that they've discontinued the commenting facility as from today so the comment has already gone. My guess that people's responses were generally not as restrained as mine.

 

Likewise the end of the Sunday Times review did not exactly do very much good to my blood pressure...

 

I'll be really interested to hear your reaction to what I've done, especially as it's pretty obvious you're so knowledgeable about the First World War - and it seems there's a good chance you'll give me a fair review!

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

[Black Maria]

28 minutes ago, AndrewTatham said:

Thank you for your kind comments on here about my book - and also about how I handled that 'review'! I certainly had to work on my phrasing in my comment on that because as you might have guessed, my true feelings were unprintable. I've now been told by Amazon that they've discontinued the commenting facility as from today so the comment has already gone. My guess that people's responses were generally not as restrained as mine.

 

Likewise the end of the Sunday Times review did not exactly do very much good to my blood pressure...

 

I'll be really interested to hear your reaction to what I've done, especially as it's pretty obvious you're so knowledgeable about the First World War - and it seems there's a good chance you'll give me a fair review!

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

Yes i really admired your restraint there , it was a really good reply though . I think the discontinuing of the review comments is a step backwards , especially

annoying when you have people leaving 'reviews' who haven't even read the book . I'm really looking forward to entering Lt Col Bartlett's world and it shall of

course be my pleasure to give my two penneth later , but there are some books i just know that i shall enjoy reading and yours is one of them .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear All, and Andrew,

I agree with Black Maria's comments and - as already noted - my delightful German daughter-in-law will obtain BOTH books for me.

My grandfather was an AIF Coy Cdr (53rd Bn., wounded, MC) during the successful Australian attack at Peronne, 1 Sep 1918. Therefore the Bartlett Saga

is a must have - and not only for me!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[Moonraker]

16 hours ago, AndrewTatham said:

... Likewise the end of the Sunday Times review did not exactly do very much good to my blood pressure...

As suggested in my opening post above, it did seem a curious and unnecessary comment to make, especially by so distinguished a critic as John Carey.

[Steven Broomfield]

4 hours ago, Moonraker said:

As suggested in my opening post above, it did seem a curious and unnecessary comment to make, especially by so distinguished a critic as John Carey.

 

I read the review and, like you, thought the comment rather unnecessary. 'Crass' might be another word to use. I fear, however, that it feeds into the modern historical perspective that everything has to be seen from a certain perspective. I was only mildly surprised no complaints were made that there wasn't a voice representing the victims of Imperialism.

 

I am holding fire until after the Festive Period: I'm not expecting Santa to do the business, but just in case.

 

Edit: that said, the next suggestion on Amazon looks tempting, too: The Great Book of Badass Women

Edited 17 December , 2020 by Steven Broomfield

[Guest]

 I have often wondered if Mr. Carey realises that people other than those in English faculties at universities hither and thither actually read books and that dons may not be the target market for the publication. It is interesting to note, per GWF, that Carey seems proud-ish of his family background for the Great War-this form his own biog.:

 

"I was born in Barnes, South West London, on 5 April 1934. My father, Charles William Carey, was an accountant who had fought in the first world war as an officer in the Warwickshire Yeomanry, a cavalry regiment that, later in the war, parted company with its horses and became a machine gun battalion on the Western front"

 

Mr. B- Lets hope  Santa (or Mrs Santa a.k.a. (The Long-Suffering) Mrs B. )  brings "I Shall Not Be Away Long"  for you.   Badass Women is a little too risque  -Try this one instead:

 

 

(Apparently not yet reviewed by Mr. Carey)

 

 

[AndrewTatham]

You might be amused to see what books are beating mine in Amazon's bestseller list for World War I biographies: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/books/758918

[Black Maria]

1 hour ago, AndrewTatham said:

You might be amused to see what books are beating mine in Amazon's bestseller list for World War I biographies: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/books/758918

[Steven Broomfield]

3 hours ago, AndrewTatham said:

You might be amused to see what books are beating mine in Amazon's bestseller list for World War I biographies: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/books/758918

 

Hmmm

[Michelle Young]

My copy was waiting for me when I got home from work. It looks splendid. I look forward to reading it. 

 

[Steven Broomfield]

On 18/12/2020 at 21:37, Fantome said:

 

I have never held Amazon in any upper level of regard. They tend to be overpriced and their reviews often look to be dubious. Your contribution above is very telling.

F.

 

A few years ago I was sent a free copy of a book (I won't reveal the author) on the basis I gave it a good review on Amazon. I can't suspect I'm  person in the world in that situation.

[Black Maria]

Well I've just finished it and what a fantastic book it is . My main interest in the war is the human experience so i knew i would find this book of 

interest and i wasn't disappointed . As well as Lt-Col Bartlett's letters which are fascinating it is chock full of information about the people who 

enter his world . I loved the books quality and lay out , i thought the 'life grids' charting each person's life span were a brilliant idea . I also bought 

the companion book 'A Group Photograph ' , which gives the reader more information on the life stories of the original battalion officers , as well

as being a moving and beautifully produced work in it's own right . 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my journey into part of Lt-Col Bartlett's world , a journey that was both interesting and poignant as well as thought provoking .

 

 

[Michelle Young]

I started reading it last night, absolutely fascinating. 

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear All,

Tantalizing - I can't obtain a copy!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[AndrewTatham]

On 14/01/2021 at 18:30, Black Maria said:

Well I've just finished it and what a fantastic book it is . My main interest in the war is the human experience so i knew i would find this book of 

interest and i wasn't disappointed . As well as Lt-Col Bartlett's letters which are fascinating it is chock full of information about the people who 

enter his world . I loved the books quality and lay out , i thought the 'life grids' charting each person's life span were a brilliant idea . I also bought 

the companion book 'A Group Photograph ' , which gives the reader more information on the life stories of the original battalion officers , as well

as being a moving and beautifully produced work in it's own right . 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my journey into part of Lt-Col Bartlett's world , a journey that was both interesting and poignant as well as thought provoking .

 

 

Sorry for the slow response to your lovely review. Publishing this book myself has meant that life has been pretty full-on for some time now and I've been using the lull after Christmas to have a bit of a break. The break can't go on forever though as I've still got plenty of books to sell if I am to make anything financially out of this.

 

It's brilliant to hear how much you got out of the book. As you say, the letters are fascinating in their own right but I put a lot of effort into showing their context within the history of other people's lives and life in general and it means a lot to know that that effort has been appreciated. Thank you.

 

I'm giving a Zoom talk for the Western Front Association on 8th March and if you have any other ideas of how I can reach out and find other readers for this book, I'd be very grateful to hear them.

[AndrewTatham]

2 hours ago, Kimberley John Lindsay said:

Dear All,

Tantalizing - I can't obtain a copy!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

I've published both my books myself. For such high-quality full-colour publications that is an expensive business which makes it impossible to sell through bookshops whilst keeping them affordable to potential readers, so I am selling them direct. Both my books are available through my website at www.groupphoto.co.uk and I will post to anywhere in the world (though I would pick Surface Mail as Air Mail outside of Europe is horrifically expensive for such big heavy books - and I've been finding that even to Australia, Surface Mail has been taking only 2 weeks). Any questions, please fire away!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, AndrewTatham said:

I've published both my books myself. For such high-quality full-colour publications that is an expensive business which makes it impossible to sell through bookshops whilst keeping them affordable to potential readers, so I am selling them direct. Both my books are available through my website at www.groupphoto.co.uk and I will post to anywhere in the world (though I would pick Surface Mail as Air Mail outside of Europe is horrifically expensive for such big heavy books - and I've been finding that even to Australia, Surface Mail has been taking only 2 weeks). Any questions, please fire away!

 

    KJL-     As an aside, may I add a word as a retired bookseller?  (I emphasise -of secondhand, out of print and antiquarian). The experience related by Andrew Tatham is, alas, a recurrent one in the days of chains such as Waterstones, W.H.Smith,etc.  Their "trade terms" are simply too onerous for a small publisher to bear- typical terms might be  a 75% discount off the cover price, 180 days on invoice before payment and unqualified "sale or return". Thus, "bookshops" become filled with a uniform quality large print-run type of gunk.  Small publishers -especially those producing a book for what it should be-something of cultural value produced to a high standard of values- cannot enter.

    The older tradition of a local bookshop-new or secondhand- stocking a new title of local interest/local author  has gone.  It does continue hither and thither. eg There is a recent small study of the woodcut artist Thomas Bewick (I know the author)-published-surprisingly -by The Bewick Society, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. There a good-hearted local secondhand bookseller, Keel Row Books, is the stockist and the contact point for getting the book.

  One small point to tuck away-  if you ask the major bookselling chain for a small book or pamphlet or a small publisher, then you tend to get one of 2 answers:

1) Yes, they can get the book  but you may have to pay an extra charge for ordering it in.  In that case, all the chain has done is confirm the book can be got and you might as well go away and find the book and order it yourself direct.

2) The chains will deceive-  they will say a book is "not available" rather than it is out of print. Telling no lies but shrugging off having to bother with awkward orders. Again, being told a book is "not available" should be treated with caution and be a spur to believing the opposite.

   Andrew-Thank you for publishing a book with high production values.

    KJL-  Enjoy it when it arrives!!

[Michelle Young]

Absolutely fascinating book Andrew. Can't say I'm warming to Charles, he appears to have quite a cruel streak when writing to Margaret.

 

Michelle 

[AndrewTatham]

 

    KJL-     As an aside, may I add a word as a retired bookseller?  (I emphasise -of secondhand, out of print and antiquarian). The experience related by Andrew Tatham is, alas, a recurrent one in the days of chains such as Waterstones, W.H.Smith,etc.  Their "trade terms" are simply too onerous for a small publisher to bear- typical terms might be  a 75% discount off the cover price, 180 days on invoice before payment and unqualified "sale or return". Thus, "bookshops" become filled with a uniform quality large print-run type of gunk.  Small publishers -especially those producing a book for what it should be-something of cultural value produced to a high standard of values- cannot enter.

    The older tradition of a local bookshop-new or secondhand- stocking a new title of local interest/local author  has gone.  It does continue hither and thither. eg There is a recent small study of the woodcut artist Thomas Bewick (I know the author)-published-surprisingly -by The Bewick Society, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. There a good-hearted local secondhand bookseller, Keel Row Books, is the stockist and the contact point for getting the book.

  One small point to tuck away-  if you ask the major bookselling chain for a small book or pamphlet or a small publisher, then you tend to get one of 2 answers:

1) Yes, they can get the book  but you may have to pay an extra charge for ordering it in.  In that case, all the chain has done is confirm the book can be got and you might as well go away and find the book and order it yourself direct.

2) The chains will deceive-  they will say a book is "not available" rather than it is out of print. Telling no lies but shrugging off having to bother with awkward orders. Again, being told a book is "not available" should be treated with caution and be a spur to believing the opposite.

   Andrew-Thank you for publishing a book with high production values.

    KJL-  Enjoy it when it arrives!!

Sorry for the slow response. After all the effort that went into publishing the book and the publicity at the end of last year, I rather hit the wall and have had to have some time out. What you say is completely true and has made life very difficult for me. It's been incredibly frustrating to have such great publicity only for people to give up looking when finding it 'unavailable to order' at Waterstones and Amazon have also made it appear unavailable at times because I'm not playing the game the way they like it. I don't regret producing the book and thankfully I haven't made a loss but I'm still some way off making a decent return on all my effort. I'm very grateful for your thanks for what I've done - it's good to know that it's appreciated and makes the whole job easier to have such support. Thank you.

[AndrewTatham]

On 15/02/2021 at 21:55, Michelle Young said:

Absolutely fascinating book Andrew. Can't say I'm warming to Charles, he appears to have quite a cruel streak when writing to Margaret.

 

Michelle 

Thanks, Michelle - yes, Charles is not what you'd call a heroic figure, but for me one of the most interesting aspects of the letters is how they illustrate the divide between those in the trenches and those on the Home Front. Even though there were reports in the papers which gave a reasonably graphic idea of what was going on, a lot of people don't seem to have the imagination to understand the truth of circumstances unless they experience them themselves - and I can understand Charles getting a bit tetchy when Margaret is talking about things in her letters which seem trifling when compared to what he is going through. I'll be interested to hear what you think at the end of it all.