"The Four Feathers," by A. E. W. Mason, is book is full of noble ideas and notions of Victorian honor in the days of the British Empire. At first glance the book may appear to be a book about war. Thought it does deal 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. 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 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, and 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. As an adventure story, Mason's book also does not disappoint. In short, "Four Feathers" is one of the greatest forgotten bestsellers in the English literature.
About the Author: A. E. W. Mason (1865-1948) was a British author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel The Four Feathers. His first novel, A Romance of Wastdale, was published in 1895. He was the author of more than 20 books, including At The Villa Rose (1910), a mystery novel in which he introduced his French detective, Inspector Hanaud. His best-known book is The Four Feathers, which has been made into several films. Many consider it his masterpiece. Other books are The House of the Arrow (1924), No Other Tiger (1927), The Prisoner in the Opal (1929) and Fire Over England (1937). He contributed a short story, The Conjurer, to The Queen's Book of the Red Cross. Mason was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Coventry in the 1906 general election. He served only a single term in Parliament, retiring at the next general election in January 1910. Mason served with the Manchester Regiment in the First World War, being promoted Captain in December 1914. He transferred to the General List in 1915 and the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1917 with the rank of Major. His military career included work in naval intelligence, serving in Spain and Mexico, where he set up counter-espionage networks on behalf of the British government. He died in 1948 while working on a non-fiction book about Admiral Robert Blake.