Journey's End - R C Sherriff

'Journey's End' has been popular due to Sherriff's daring attempts to portray a historic battle which will never be forgotten, by using emotions rather than physical action. It was daring because he specifically dates the play before the battle of St. Quentin which was the last German win. The original audience (1928) would catch on to the idea that all of the characters who Sherriff allows the audience to get attached to, will consequently die. Hence the title being 'Journey's End'; literally it is the end for the characters that the audience have become fond of. Daringly enough, Sherriff's play could also have brought up ill feelings in the original audience about the ...  Read the complete review

I read this book because my daughter is studying Journey's End for her GCSE English Literature exam this summer. I had never read it before, nor seen the play, so I thought it would be good idea to read it for myself so I could then discuss some of it with her. I should point out that Journey's End is actually a play and not a novel and it is the play that is being studied at GCSE, not this book in particular. Also, when reading Journey's End you need to keep in mind that it is written for actors with the intention of it being performed to an audience and so comes complete with stage directions. I am reviewing the Heinemann book edition that is produced ...  Read the complete review