The Four Feathers

Rating:
Summary: Great story of love, courage, and friendship
Review: A.E.W. Mason's classic story of love lost and courage found is over a hundred years old, but its themes are timeless: love, friendship, and courage, along with the human desire to make right the wrongs of the past.

Harry Feversham is a young officer in the British army whose greatest fear is to be seen a coward, and disgrace those whom he loves. On the night he finds out that he is to be sent to war in Egypt, he resigns his commission in order to avoid any possibility that his fears may be realized. In response to Feversham's act, three of his friends send him three white feathers as a symbol that in their eyes, the decision makes him a coward. When Feversham's fiancee, Ethne Eustace, finds out about Feversham's act and the three feathers, she gives Harry a fourth feather, and casts him out of her life. A broken man, Feversham quitely resolves to redeem himself by proving his bravery to each of the four, forcing each to recant their accusation of cowardice and take back the feather that each person gave.

What evolves is a grand tale of adventure, as the lives of Feversham and his closest friends move along through the next few years. Ethne moves on with her life, while not entirely forgetting Feversham, nor forgiving herself for her harsh treatment of him. Harry's best friend, Jack Durrance, is blinded in the Sudan and returns to England to marry Ethne, but never forgets about Feversham, and wonders what happened to his friend. As details of Feversham's deeds begin to emerge, both Ethne and Durrance begin to understand Feversham's character; they realize their true feelings about him, and about each other.

The characters in Mason's story have a Victorian simplicity, which, while limiting their outward emotions, adds to the conflict with which they have to deal. The desire to do the right thing, for love or friendship, is a strong theme in this book, which works well with the contrast between the harsh Sudan and the comforts of England; for in each location, the characters are found to suffer and survive in different ways, but in equal measure. For having been written 100 years ago, the characters and story hold up very well against modern standards.

I very much enjoyed this book, and now understand why it has been made into a movie several times. The combination of intense emotion and epic adventure in far-off lands makes for some compelling reading, and a wonderful story.

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Summary: to get the facts
Review: For the best non-fiction account of the Anglo-Egyptian/Sudanese war of 1897-98 read Winston Churchill's "The River War". The future prime minister was a 25 year old cavalry lieutenant in the 21st Lancers. Hard to get but worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read
Review: I read this book in anticipation of the Sept. 2002 Shekar Kapur movie of the same title.
I found The Four Feathers to be an engrossing character examination, with a bit of action as the background. The romance at the center was a bonus, as was the detailed glimpse of life in Britain at that time, the expectations that men and women held for one another and themselves.
I was, however, disappointed by the inaccuracy in the synopsis on the book's back cover and repeated on this website which states that Harry Faversham saves the lives of the three men who gave him the white feathers in order to be redemeed.
I'm not sure where the writer of the synopsis came by that idea but it sure doesn't happen like that in the book. Not to spoil the story for you, but Harry proves his bravery in rather more complex ways.
I also was pleasantly surprised that much of the book is told from the perspective of Ethne, Harry's beloved. Her struggle to "do the right thing" is just as compelling as Harry's struggle to make up for the one time he didn't.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read
Review: I read this book in anticipation of the Sept. 2002 Shekar Kapur movie of the same title.
I found The Four Feathers to be an engrossing character examination, with a bit of action as the background. The romance at the center was a bonus, as was the detailed glimpse of life in Britain at that time, the expectations that men and women held for one another and themselves.
I was, however, disappointed by the inaccuracy in the synopsis on the book's back cover and repeated on this website which states that Harry Faversham saves the lives of the three men who gave him the white feathers in order to be redemeed.
I'm not sure where the writer of the synopsis came by that idea but it sure doesn't happen like that in the book. Not to spoil the story for you, but Harry proves his bravery in rather more complex ways.
I also was pleasantly surprised that much of the book is told from the perspective of Ethne, Harry's beloved. Her struggle to "do the right thing" is just as compelling as Harry's struggle to make up for the one time he didn't.

Rating:
Summary: An absurd, silly, entertaining piece of...
Review: I'm a fan of some kind of B-movies. Which means I like them if they are so silly you can laugh or at least smile through them. This works the best with movies that take themself very seriously. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought that a book could have the same effect, but "The Four Feathers" succeeds in being extremly funny - unintentionally, I suppose.

A man is crazy enough to be afraid of war and therefore gets thrown out of the society by his friends and his fiancee because there is nothing they could less understand. Soon he figures this out himself and does some really exciting things to save his honor or something to that effect.

As some have mentioned the book is "misunderstood", which means that it is not about Harry Feversham's stupid adventures to save his stupid honor, but mostly about the absolutely crazy relationships of his fiancee Ethne and his friend Durrance. This has to be read to believe. Durrance is blind you know, but since he is some kind of superhero he can sense everything this conversation partner does, breathes or thinks. Which doesn't help him of being the most miserable guy in the book getting nothing for giving everything. But there is Ethne, the woman, too, who feels pretty proud in marrying whoever comes along, as long as she can play some violin. Talk about some strong female roles here.

And there is Harry, the main character, who is absent most of the book. Which may not be too bad, since his actions are far beyond reason. Not his "cowardishness", but everything after the feathers, his actions and thoughts.

There is not a single character in the book you can relate to, because everyone is crazy about war and dying. Harry doesn't explain why he was scared of going into war. Everyone else doesn't understand it and the only person who pretends to understand it (Sutch), doesn't explain why. I suppose, the author had no idea too, so, well...

I though it was great that it was called "Four Feathers", that four feathers were given out most dramatically and that one of them simply is for free, without any meaning. You could ask yourself why it simply wasn't called "The Three Feathers" and one was left out, but if you start like this you get crazy with this book.

I can't believe anyone admires this. It is entertaining, somehow, I admit. It's not boring you know and, as I said, you can smile all the way. But taking it seriously is far beyond my understanding. I mean, this is a book that admires war, especially the colonial war that was all about expanding the white race. Therefore the "foreign" or arabic characters are just silhouettes or servants.

But if you always wanted to read about a woman who gets happy when she hears a person was killed and her big love is tortured in a prison (because at least, that's not cowardish), then this "classic" is right for you. Or if you watched a movie like "Star Crash" or "Double Team" often enough and ever wondered if it was possible to manage to write a real B-movie-trash-book. Because this is definitely what it is.

Rating:
Summary: A Heart-felt Adventure-Romance
Review: My first exposure to this story was the 1977 movie version featuring Beau Bridges and Jane Seymour. I always thought it was a great story, and when I heard there was a new movie remake coming out, I looked into it, discovering that there was a book behind it all.

One reason I was fascinated by the book is that it is a cross-cultural experience. The book is now over a hundred years old, so the world-views and values of the characters and the author are significantly different from my own. Certainly I would agree with other reviewers that the Arabian and African characters are nothing but silhouettes, and that colonialism is not necessarily something Westerners should be are proud of. But these things are in line with the worldview of the author and his society. Other contemporaries of Mason may have questioned the values of the day, but he doesn't explicitly oppose them. Even if the reader doesn't agree with the 19th century values, one can still appreciate how the characters each wrestled with their lot in life within the framework of their society.

I also enjoyed many of the author's insightful descriptions. At one point he describes the reason for Ethne's fear and reluctance to play her violin as that she considers it her "indiscreet friend" (p. 191). It will reveal her feelings when she most wants to keep them in. Then there is the simply hilarious description of Captain Willoughby's social skills, or lack there of, on page 241.

Having seen one of the movie versions first, the original story had some surprises for me (pretty hard to squeeze a 400 page book into a two-hour movie). Ethne's character has a lot more depth and fascination than the 1977 movie. And the adventure story line has a few extra twists as well. Also, Feversham as a main character is almost absent more than he is present. The story is his, but it is told as observed and discovered by the other characters.

This story offers adventure combined with a serious romance. If you can go along with the late 19th century perspectives on life, this is a story worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Clean,exciting and romantic..
Review: My mother bought this book for me when I was a young girl-tomorrow I'll be 66 yrs old..I remember reading it over and over and even though I knew the ending, I'll could sabor the whole story like the first time--Now I'm buying for my grandchildren and hoping that they will enjoy it as much as I did.

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Summary: One of the Greatest Book Forgotten and Misunderstood
Review: The front cover of the book might lead you to misunderstanding that "Four Feathers" is a book about war; actually, though it deals with the war in the Sudan in late 19th century, the book consists of superb descriptions of complicated psychology found in the hero, the heroine and their mutual friend. "Four Feathers" as a whole is not a book like "She" or "Beau Geste," but it is rather a special kind of romance which could be found only in this era.

To disprove his disgrace, the hero Harry Feversham, who quit his regiment just before being sent to the Sudan, decides to go to Africa, disguising himself as a Greek, and firmly is determined to give back three white feathers sent to him as a symbol of his being a coward. One clever touch is given here; his fiancee also added one feather to them, and rejected him in the face before their marriage. Now you think Harry must prove that he does not deserve such an act. And probably, you expect the book to draw you into the world full of adventure. No, you're wrong.

There are certainly descriptions of adventure under the sizzling sun of Africa, but you must wait. Before they come, we are introduced to the complex relationship between Harry and other characters that are involved in his action. Various feelings of love, regret, courage, and suspicion, all caused as aftermath of the crucial action of sending white feathers, follow with a surprisingly and deeply psychological insight. Though the story is, as you expect, very melodramatic and sentimental, the characters are well-drawn and convincing, and if not as insightful as Henry James, surely deserves much serious attention.

The adventure scenes come in the last third of the book, but the suspense is a little diminished due to the rather hasty ending of the book. (If you want to read a book full of adventure in Africa, I recommend P. C. Wren's "Beau Geste," which I found a gripping tale, too.) Still, the descriptions of the House of Stone, concentration camp of POW, (where the author himself visited after the war ended) are still realistic and shocking, and will haunt your mind after reading, and as an adeventure story too, you won't be disappointed. In short, "Four Feathers" is one of the greatest forgotten bestsellers in the English literature.

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Summary: The Real Four Feathers - Different Than the Movie Versions
Review: This book is full of noble ideas and notions of Victorian honor in the days of the British Empire. Those who come to this book after seeing the 1939 Korda classic, or even the more stark 1979 re-make might be in for a suprise. Even as this review is written yet another cineamtic foray is being planned with a Fall 2002 re-re-make. No doubt 21st century notions of Political Correctness shall be heavy handed on this 19th Century classic.

Still, I think readers will be in for a bit of a disappointment here. Not for the book itself which is a sublime piece of writing, a work typical ot the pathos of the time, but because of the lack of action contained therein. This is a pyschological and emotional work. The main charcters have many inner feelings to deal with. The plot moves slowly at times, building to a gradual crescendo typical of Victorian novels of the day before it resolves itself in rapid sequences.

The film versions convey the general impression of the book, but there are not big clamatic battles of Omdurman or prison breaks which made the Korda movie such a rousing epic. Here Harry Faversham is very much on his own to resolve his fears and inner emotions, as are his friends. Its good to see a book like this revived, but readers who come to it from the movie theater or video are apt to be suprised at what they find here. Lets hope the find the suprise a pleasant and interesting one. I know I did.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Four Feathers - Different Than the Movie Versions
Review: This book is full of noble ideas and notions of Victorian honor in the days of the British Empire. Those who come to this book after seeing the 1939 Korda classic, or even the more stark 1979 re-make might be in for a suprise. Even as this review is written yet another cineamtic foray is being planned with a Fall 2002 re-re-make. No doubt 21st century notions of Political Correctness shall be heavy handed on this 19th Century classic.

Still, I think readers will be in for a bit of a disappointment here. Not for the book itself which is a sublime piece of writing, a work typical ot the pathos of the time, but because of the lack of action contained therein. This is a pyschological and emotional work. The main charcters have many inner feelings to deal with. The plot moves slowly at times, building to a gradual crescendo typical of Victorian novels of the day before it resolves itself in rapid sequences.

The film versions convey the general impression of the book, but there are not big clamatic battles of Omdurman or prison breaks which made the Korda movie such a rousing epic. Here Harry Faversham is very much on his own to resolve his fears and inner emotions, as are his friends. Its good to see a book like this revived, but readers who come to it from the movie theater or video are apt to be suprised at what they find here. Lets hope the find the suprise a pleasant and interesting one. I know I did.