The Ghost of the Trenches

With the centenary of the start of the First World War commemorated this year every publisher will have something different to offer on the subject. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury publishing have found an interesting new approach to the stories behind the Great war, focussing on the folk stories and myths that haunted the soldiers and villages. This slim volume includes 14 'war stories' made up of poems, songs and re-tellings of ghostly sightings and mysterious coincidences. Each chapter comes with a short precursor from the authors for context and the book's written introduction comes from the Storytelling Laureate, Taffy Thomas.

The influence of an oral storyteller can be felt in the text and many of the chapters read as if spoken. The short sections could encourage reluctant readers to try a page or two but the brevity of these tales could frustrate those looking for a more immersive reading experience. A novel project that could be useful in classrooms.