Private Fortunes

Private Fortunes (1930) is the most famous novel by Australian writer and poet Frederick Manning.

Manning lived in Britain before the outbreak of World War I, and in 1914 he volunteered for the British Army, later taking part in the Battle of the Somme.

His autobiographical novel tells the story of several comrades who, together, take part in trench warfare, rest in front-line villages, fall in love with girls and try to hide their youthful adventures from their officers. Manning shows the war not only as a series of battles, but also draws attention to its everyday life, routine and human relationships.

Hemingway called this novel "the most honest that has been written about the First World War". Other admirers of the book included Lawrence of Arabia, Ezra Pound, W.B. Yeats and many other writers of the time.

The novel "Private Fortunes" is being published in Ukrainian for the first time in the translation by Myroslav Tomaszchuk.