The Lovely Sergeant by Alan Burgess

The Lovely Sergeant

by Alan Burgess

Readers Book Club, 1963, black and white photographic plates, illustrated endpapers (maps), hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, age toned pages, dustjacket in good condition with some rubbing, chipping, small insect holes to some folds (see photographs)

Flora Sandes, daughter of an English country parson, achieved something that was remarkable for a woman even by Great War standards: she enlisted as a private in the hard-pressed Serbian army, after serving as a volunteer nurse in the Balkans.  An object of wonder and decision at first, she quickly proved herself, was promoted to sergeant, severely wounded, and decorated for bravery and devotion.  When Serbia at last became part of the new Yugoslavia, she received a commission.  Eventually she married her own sergeant and lived a happy life in Paris and Belgrade.
The Lovely Sergeant then is the strange and fascinating story of a woman who discovered her greatest joys in the excitement rigors and comradeship of army life.