The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason

Name: The Four Feathers
Author: A.E.W. Mason

The Four Feathers opens at Broad Place, where General Feversham and Lieutenant Sutch gather for the anniversary dinner of the Redan assault, and Harry Feversham, the general's imaginative, dark-eyed son who takes after his dead mother rather than the line of soldier-ancestors on the walls, listens all night to war stories with visible dread, revealing to Sutch alone a fear of his own possible cowardice. Thirteen years later Harry, an officer engaged to Ethne Eustace of Ramelton, resigns his commission on the eve of his regiment's Egyptian posting after suppressing a telegram warning of the move; at a dance at Lennon House, three brother officers—Trench, Castleton, and Willoughby—send him white feathers accusing him of cowardice, and Ethne, learning the truth, breaks the engagement and adds a fourth feather of her own. Harry confesses everything to Sutch, revealing a lifelong terror of proving unequal to danger, and resolves to seek opportunities to force each of the three men to withdraw his feather, hoping thereby to redeem himself with Ethne too; he then vanishes into Egypt and the Soudan. Meanwhile Harry's friend Colonel Jack Durrance serves with distinction in the Soudan campaigns, all the while suppressing his own love for Ethne. Disguised as an Arab, Harry undertakes a perilous mission to recover letters of Gordon's hidden in the ruins of Berber, eventually delivering them to Captain Willoughby at Suakin and thereby reclaiming the first feather. Durrance, blinded by sunstroke while investigating a strange incident at Wadi Halfa, returns to England; believing his career and independence destroyed, and learning Ethne had pledged herself to him only out of pity upon hearing of his blindness, he nonetheless proceeds toward marriage with her, though both privately conceal their true feelings—Ethne resolving that "two lives must not be spoilt because of her," Durrance growing strangely more perceptive despite his blindness. The narrative resumes with Captain Willoughby unexpectedly arriving at Mrs. Adair's house in Devonshire, where Ethne is staying, to return his feather in person and recount how he encountered Harry at Suakin and learned of the Berber mission. As Willoughby begins his detailed account of Harry's ordeal in the ruined city—the text breaks off partway through this narration, before the story of the letters' recovery, and by extension the fates of Trench and Castleton's feathers, is completed.

By A.E.W. Mason · First published 1902 · Genre: Adventure, Historical Fiction, War · 34 chapters · 126,876 words

First lines

Lieutenant Sutch was the first of General Feversham's guests to reach Broad Place. He arrived about five o'clock on an afternoon of sunshine in mid June, and the old red-brick house, lodged on a southern slope of the Surrey hills, was glowing from a dark forest depth of pines with the warmth of a rare jewel. Lieutenant Sutch limped across the hall, where the portraits of the Fevershams rose one above the other to the ceiling, and went out on to the stone-flagged terrace at the back. There he found his host sitting erect like a boy, and gazing southward toward the Sussex Downs.

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The Four Feathers is listed on Textopian as a novel by A.E.W. Mason, dated 1902 CE.

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Work type: Novel
Author: A.E.W. Mason
Date: 1902 CE
Language: English
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction, War, Romantic, Psychological
Length: 126,876 words
Structure: 34 chapters, 2,206 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters

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Genres

Adventure — The book tells the story of a British officer who resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to Sudan, and his struggle to regain his friends' and fiance's respect, leading him to undertake daring feats and adventures.
Historical Fiction — The book is set in the late 19th century against the backdrop of the war in Sudan, which gives historically accurate insight into the era and events of that time.
War — The central conflict of the novel revolves around the war in Sudan, detailing battles and strategies, and exploring the impact of war on individuals and societies.
Romantic — An underlying subplot is the reconciliation of the protagonist with his fiancée, following his resignation from the army and his efforts to restore his honor and prove his courage.