Faith Under Fire - by Edward Madigan (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

After the Great War some texts by British Army veterans portrayed the Anglican chaplains who had served with them in an extremely negative light. This book examines the realities of Anglican chaplains' wartime experiences and presents a compelling picture of what it meant to be a clergyman-in-uniform in the most devastating war in modern history.

Review Quotes

'This is an impressive first book that, aside from its contribution to the history of Christianity, is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the British army in the First World War.' - Gary Sheffield, Twentieth Century British History

'Edward Madigan has stripped away from the padres of the Great War old clichés and replaced them with a powerful study of the ways men of the cloth served the men at the front. No crusades or revivals here: but something more lasting - brotherhood and consolation. An important addition to the historical literature on Britain at war.' - Jay Winter, Yale University, USA

'Madigan's book brilliantly explodes the myth that Anglican chaplains had a 'bad war'. Using a broad range of sources and a critical historical sympathy, Madigan sets these men back into the context from which they came, and in the process illuminates their expectations for the coming conflict, the part they played in the war culture of the British army on the Western Front, and how the myth of their inadequacy developed. The result is a star-shell of a book that illuminates the history of male religiosity as well as the human experience of the First World War.' - Dan Todman, Queen Mary, University of London, UK

'A nuanced and balanced account that dispels a number of stubborn myths about Anglican chaplains through careful reading of published and unpublished sources. This is an important contribution to our understanding of the Churchof England during the war.' - Adrian Gregory, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, UK

'A major contribution to studies of the First World War any further work on the subject is bound to draw on this elegant and erudite study.' - William Whyte, St. John's College, Oxford

'The whole issue of combatant faith is brilliantly and incisively analysed by Madigan Faith Under Fire is an excellent and completely absorbing study of a wide range of issues relative to wartime chaplaincy. It is easy and compelling to read, carefully and closely argued, and a model of sound scholarship.' - History Ireland

'Madigan's book provides a valuable contribution to military history and to the history of the First World War. It is well researched and uses a diverse array of primary sources to build its argument. The book is especially valuable as a contribution to the understanding of life in the trenches and to the social history of warfare and would certainly be of value to anyone interested in the British experience of war.' - Cercles, Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone

'Faith under Fire is first rate. It is a work which, I trust, will be valued by those who really want to understand the contribution of dedicated men who ostensibly had no role in war but found one then and in the years to follow.' - War in History

About the Author

EDWARD MADIGAN is a Government of Ireland IRCHSS Fellow and Associate Director of the Centre for War Studies at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.