Book Review: The Levant Trilogy, by Olivia Manning
The heat, the flies, and the bloody expats – Egypt in World War Two is filled with selfish, privileged, rich, washed-up dregs of a declining British Empire. They are portrayed in Olivia Manning’s satirical novel, The Levant Trilogy featuring The Danger Tree, The Battle Lost and Won, and The Sum of Things – a sort of before, during and after story of the assorted characters in an Egypt almost overrun by Rommel’s African Corp ranging from 1941 to 1943
The three short novels move the story of the Pringles and their assorted friends and work colleagues on from the collapse of the Allied defence of the Balkans depicted in the Balkan Trilogy to Cairo and the deserts and towns of Egypt. The trio of novels complete The Fortunes of War series giving a panoramic sweep of the Eastern Mediterranean theatre of war – an area of the global conflict that is often overlooked. The fall of the Balkans and Greece – and very nearly Egypt – as the Nazis attempted to take over the western world before becoming stuck in the sands of North Africa. Just one step ahead of them are Guy and Harriet Pringle whose relationship is the central theme of the unhappy story of the novels.
Harriet’s disillusion with their marriage slowly increases as preoccupied Guy gives all his attention to anyone other than his new wife who is constantly sidelined and left on her own. His belittling nick name for her ‘little monkey paws’ jars while his failure to understand her discontent seeing it as failing health in the heat makes him blind to her feelings when he always prioritises pleasing glamourous actresses and singers socially over her.
The other main human story follows young British soldier Simon Boulderstone who sees action in the prelude to the second Battle of El Alamein where he is involved in an infantry advance which results in hand-to-hand fighting in which he kills a German soldier. The rest of his experience is very different – especially after promotion to liaison officer when he is sent on fact finding missions in the heat of battle which eventually leads to him being badly injured.
The strength of the novels is the way Manning examines each character’s thought processes and actions reflecting their emotions and events – from death to divorce and from tragedy to social exclusion. It allows for character development, for Simon who becomes tougher and more confident as he survives his injuries and his social connections with those both above and below him in rank – as well as his schoolboy infatuation with beautiful gold digger Edwina who is only interested in marrying a rich titled aristocrat. Simon is also deeply affected by his brother’s pointless death in battle – left to bleed to death in the desert – who he had idealised and wished to emulate but eventually established his own personality – confident in his abilities.
As a satire the novels expose the hypocrisy of the occupying British whose main concern historically was to protect the Suez Canal and the route to India. They seemed to have little interest in improving the lot of everyday Egyptians or even ingratiating themselves with the residents who they look down on. Guy and Harriet are more enlightened but don’t even try to learn a little Arabic, and college lecturer in English Literature Guy Pringle – despite his Marxism idealism – dismisses the local culture and history preferring the company of expats. There’s wealthy Lady Angela Hooper who is having an affair with fellow teacher Bill Castlebar – both ignoring the locals in preference for knocking back the whisky in hotel bars every night – and Aiden Pratt, an actor drafted into the army who is besotted with Guy who doesn’t return his affection. Mortimer is a female British army driver whose friendship with her fellow female soldier are two of the more rounded characters – and they are kind to Harriet happy in their relationship while in complete contrast the pompous Professor Lord Pinkrose is everything a lecturer in English Literature shouldn’t be – rude, self-entitled and ignorant. Lister is one of the many drunks in uniform who never appears to be anywhere near the fighting – while ‘Dobbie’ Dobson is a British diplomat who is one of the few voices of sanity – and one of the characters who featured in the Balkan Trilogy.
Harriet is no 21st century feminist but she does slowly realise she can forge her way in a male dominated world where men treat women as air heads. Reviews suggest she is based on Manning herself who had very similar experiences in the Middle East during the war which is perhaps why she is seen as something of a thoughtful central character who emerges the stronger as the story unfolds. The countries of Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon are vividly described through the view of colonialism – a sort of 1940s travelogue – everywhere is dirty, poor, dusty and impoverished with beggars and children in rags – although the countryside and the weather is more positively described – apart from the occasional sandstorm or downpour.
By the end as the war moves away to Tunisia and Italy there is a growing sense of what will happen when Germany is defeated. The expats are likely to go home while the rumblings of discontentment of the French and British rulers are emerging as Manning suggests through their less than grateful attitudes to the Brits. Certainly, as a depiction of colonial rule The Levant Trilogy subtly predicts many of the conflicts in the Middle East that are to come.
Harry Mottram
Both trilogies, The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy, are available either used online or from all good book shops – and of course from the library.
Olivia Manning (1908 -1980) was a British novelist, poet, writer, and reviewer. She married Reggie Smith a Marxist lecturer – and their life in the Balkans and the Middle East mirrors much of what happens in The Fortunes of War. There is more on her life and work at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Manning
Readers may recall The 1987 BBC TV series The Fortunes of War with Kenneth Branagh as Guy and Emma Thompson as Harriet (pictured) written by Alan Plater and directed by James Jones. Episodes can still be found on Youtube.
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