Private Peaceful

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Private Peaceful

Frontispiece, first edition: 2003
Author	Michael Morpurgo
Translator	Migul
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	None
Genre	War novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	2003
Media type	Print hardback, paperback, and script
Pages	185
ISBN	978-0-00-715006-9
OCLC	534265686765

Private Peaceful is a novel for older children by Michael Morpurgo, first published in 2003. It is about a soldier called Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful, who is looking back on his life from the trenches of World War I in France. Structurally, each chapter of the book brings the reader closer to the present until the story turns to present tense. The story especially underlines the senselessness of war and ineptitude of the commanding officer.

Plot[]

The story is told from the perspective of Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful, a young man. Initially he describes his life as a boy, before the Great War. He discusses his love for Molly, a girl he met on his first day at school, and his relationship with his older brother Charlie. Early in the story, Tommo his father go woodcutting together, leading to his father's death while saving Tommo from a falling tree; Tommo keeps the incident a secret from everyone, blaming himself for what happened. The trio of Tommo, Charlie and Molly grow up together; their mischievous adventures including braving "Grandma Wolf" (the boys' great-aunt, also referred to as the Wolfwoman), defying a Colonel and skinny-dipping, the latter leaving a large impression on Tommo. They also see an aeroplane together – the first people in their village to do so. Charlie is very protective of his younger brother. .

Charlie, Molly and later Tommo all find jobs on the local estate or in the village. Charlie and Molly become closer as they are both older than Tommo, causing Tommo to feel left out. Later, it is revealed that Molly and Charlie were secretly having sex with each other and that Molly had become pregnant with Charlie's baby. She is thrown out of her house and moves in with the Peacefuls.

Tommo is heartbroken after the couple rush to get married a short time later, before Charlie is forced to enlist in the British Army and is deployed to France to fight in World War I; Tommo lies about his age to join his brother. The rest of the story describes the brothers' experiences of the war: their Sergeant "Horrible" Hanley, near-misses during the battle on the front line, and Charlie's continued protection of Tommo.

During a charge of the German lines, Charlie disobeys a direct order from Sergeant Hanley and stays with Tommo while he is injured on no-man's-land. As a result, Charlie is accused of cowardice, for which he is court-martialled and sentenced to death. The book's chapters count down to dawn, the time set for Charlie's execution. On the night before his brother's execution, Tommo reveals to Charlie his guilt for their father's death; Charlie reassures him that his father's death was not his fault. Tommo learns that Sergeant Hanley has been killed, but this only provides him with a small consolation. Charlie is marched before the firing squad and dies happily, singing his favorite childhood song, "Oranges and Lemons".

The novel ends with Tommo preparing for the Battle of the Somme.

2006 pardon[]

A postscript notes that in 2006, 306 British and Commonwealth soldiers who, like the character of Charlie, were executed for offenses including cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and sleeping at their posts, were posthumously pardoned.^[1]

Play[]

The book was adapted into a play of the same name by , first performed at the Bristol Old Vic in April 2004, and starred Alexander Campbell. Later the production enjoyed sell-out transfers to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London's West End, and then toured the United Kingdom. Another production toured United Kingdom provincial repertory theatres in 2014.

Whilst in Morpurgo's novel and the subsequent film adaptation it is Charlie Peaceful (Tommo's brother) who is shot for cowardice, playwright Simon Reade changed this in his stage play, as he did not think the original ending would make 'total theatrical and dramatic sense' in a play written for one actor. Instead, at the end of the play, Tommo himself is shot by the firing squad. Simon Reade later went on to adapt the novel for a cast of thirty, for the radio, and for cinema, and in each of those adaptations he has restored Morpurgo's original ending.

Concerts[]

In 1986 the trio Coope, Boyes, and Simpson were commissioned to create a concert in Passchendaele church, with Flemish musicians. This was released as a live album entitled "We Are Here Because We're Here: Concert Party Passchendaele". Morpurgo met the trio in September 2000 at a conference on "Children's Literature In Peace and War". He was so impressed by their songs that he invited them to add music to "Some Desperate Glory", a set of readings of war poetry devised by Morpurgo and read by Jim Broadbent and others. Soon after this, they put together the material for a series of concerts called "Private Peaceful". The concerts consisted of readings by Morpurgo with songs and tunes by Coope, Boyes, and Simpson. They were performed in 2005 and 2006 at the Wembley Arena.

Feature-length film[]

A feature film version of Private Peaceful, directed by Pat O'Connor with a screenplay by Simon Reade, was released in October 2012.^[2] Ireland 12 October 2012, UK 12 October 2012 and New Zealand 18 April 2013.^[3]

The music score was to be written by Mark Knopfler in his second film score in a decade,^[4] but the final score was written by Rachel Portman.^[5]

Cast[]

• George Mackay as Teenage Tommo Peaceful.
• Samuel Bottomley as young Tommo Peaceful.
• Richard Griffiths as The Colonel.
• Alexandra Roach as Molly Monks.
• Jack O'Connell as Charlie Peaceful.
• Hero Fiennes-Tiffin as young Charlie Peaceful.
• Frances de la Tour as Grandma Wolf.
• John Lynch as Sergeant Hanley.
• Maxine Peake as Hazel Peaceful.
• Izzy Meikle-Small as Young Molly.
• Paul Ready as Captain Wilkins.
• Anthony Flanagan as Recruiting Sergeant.
• Eline Powell as Anna.
• David Yelland as General Haig.
• James Laurenson as Major Fitzpatrick.
• Paul Chequer as the Corporal.

References[]

External links[]

• A review of Private Peaceful on the Guardian website