Heroism in the abstract: a novel and critical analysis of the research

This PhD thesis comprises a section of my novel, Heroism in the Abstract and a concomitant critical analysis of the research carried out in its creation and development. The critical analysis investigates, in the light of evidence-based research, why it might be that the second Battle of Loos (or Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt) has not been represented in previous works of fiction, being eclipsed by the later conflicts of the Somme and Passchendaele. There is also enquiry as to the reasons for the absence of Leicestershire and in particular the Leicestershire Regiment, from fiction set during the Great War. This critical reflection further considers the use of realism in writing about war, weighs some of the myths, legends and clichés associated with the Great War against historical fact and concludes with an examination of the writer’s ethical responsibilities when writing about ‘real people’. [Continues.]