The Four Feathers

by Mason, A. E. W.; Hoppenstand, Gary

• ISBN13: 9780142180013
• ISBN10: 0142180017
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

Just before sailing off to war in the Sudan, British guardsman Harry Feversham quits his regiment. He immediately receives four white feathers-symbols of cowardice-one each from his three best friends and his fiancée. To disprove this grave dishonor, Harry dons an Arabian disguise and leaves for the Sudan, where he anonymously comes to the aid of his three friends, saving each of their lives. Having proved his bravery, Harry returns to England, hoping to regain the love and respect of his fiancée. This suspenseful tale movingly depicts a distinctive code of honor that was deeply valued and strongly promoted by the British during the height of their imperial power.

Author Biography

Gary Hoppenstand is a professor in the Department of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University. He has researched and published widely in the areas of popular culture and popular fiction studies, and he edited the Penguin Classics editions of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda/Rupert of Hentzau and A.E.W. Mason's The Four Feathers. He is the past president of the Popular Culture Association, and the current editor of The Journal of Popular Culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Selected Background Reading	xxvii
A Note on the Text	xxxi
A Crimean Night	5	(10)
Captain Trench and a Telegram	15	(7)
The Last Ride Together	22	(6)
The Ball at Lennon House	28	(12)
The Pariah	40	(5)
Harry Feversham's Plan	45	(10)
The Last Reconnaissance	55	(7)
Lieutenant Sutch Is Tempted to Lie	62	(7)
At Glenalla	69	(9)
The Wells of Obak	78	(5)
Durrance Hears News of Feversham	83	(7)
Durrance Sharpens His Wits	90	(14)
Durrance Begins to See	104	(8)
Captain Willoughby Reappears	112	(9)
The Story of the First Feather	121	(11)
Captain Willoughby Retires	132	(9)
The Melusine Overture	141	(6)
The Answer to the Overture	147	(10)
Mrs. Adair Intervenes	157	(9)
East and West	166	(7)
Ethne Makes Another Slip	173	(8)
Durrance Lets His Cigar Go Out	181	(8)
Mrs. Adair Makes Her Apology	189	(7)
On the Nile	196	(5)
Lieutenant Sutch Comes Off the Half-Pay List	201	(13)
General Feversham's Portraits Are Appeased	214	(6)
The House of Stone	220	(12)
Plans of Escape	232	(10)
Colonel Trench Assumes a Knowledge of Chemistry	242	(11)
The Last of the Southern Cross	253	(8)
Feversham Returns to Ramelton	261	(6)
In the Church at Glenalla	267	(8)
Ethne Again Plays the Melusine Overture	275	(6)
The End	281