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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Adventure, mystery and laughter share these pages with the anxieties of a world at war.
The Times Red Cross Story Book brings together short fiction by British writers of the First World War period. A. E. W. Mason, A. A. Milne, Compton Mackenzie, R. Austin Freeman and Warwick Deeping contribute to a collection that moves between adventure, mystery, humour and quiet human drama. Each story stands alone, offering a different voice and a fresh place to begin.
Behind this variety lies a shared purpose: support for the Red Cross and its care for wounded soldiers and prisoners. Several contributors serve in or alongside the war effort. Even away from the front, the period’s mood enters ordinary lives through separation, anxiety, loyalty and the wish for news from far away. The collection invites you to notice those feelings alongside its changing moods.
What you’ll discover
- Many voices, different pleasures Explore stories by writers known for novels, detective tales and light comedy.
- War beyond the front Discover how separation and uncertainty shape the ordinary lives behind the wartime setting.
- Room for laughter Find humour alongside adventure and quiet drama in a collection with changing moods.
- A shared purpose See how contributions from well-known writers come together in support of Red Cross relief.
- One story at a time Pause between tales without losing your way, then return for another voice.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like short stories you can finish in one sitting, and if you enjoy a new voice and a new place every few pages.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy discovers a dangerous mission
- George carries another self into spring
- Honor meets rules and appearances
- Proud plans meet love and revenge
- Small mistakes open into comedy
- Unexpected danger calls for calm thinking
- Another person's faith can restore courage
- Children see battle through small openings
- Small turning points connect separate tales
Who’s who
- DimoussiA fifteen year old boy from Agurai in Morocco who sells his family's pistol, walks to a sacred city and decides to start a holy war.
- George CrosbyA shy London clerk who spends his short April holiday under made-up names, hoping to find a woman he has dreamed about for years.
- Walking MooseA young Maliseet chief who defends his village against the Mohawks and dreams of leading all Maliseet clans.
- Colonel WedgeA retired English officer in Paris who follows a lurid cinema poster and finds himself a prisoner in a cellar.
- Dick DanbyA famous music hall comedian, ill and unsure of himself, who walks the country roads believing his jokes no longer work.
- Peter TripconeyA wandering flute-player who seeks a bed and supper in Cornwall and finds an old lord who fears a bird's whistle.
- PhilomèneA large, practical maid at a Belgian château who guards the house and the children while armies close in.
- Irene le FevreA quick, green-eyed young woman in an Acadian village who tries to protect her brother from a British officer.
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Times Red Cross Story Book in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Times Red Cross Story Book
by A. E. W. Mason; A. A. Milne; Compton Mackenzie; R. Austin Freeman; Warwick Deeping; others
A boy sells a pistol, a curate finds a bronze parrot, and a ghost loses her audience in eighteen tales.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What does a boy do with a stolen pistol, a curate with a bronze parrot, or a ghost whose audience has stopped believing? This collection answers with eighteen short stories, and no two sound alike.
The Times Red Cross Story Book at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h4 h 45 min fast, 7 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 86,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy takes a pistol and a mission
The collection opens with Dimoussi and the Pistol by A. E. W. Mason. Dimoussi is fifteen and lives in a village south of Mequinez in Morocco. The silent plain around his home bores him.
One spring morning he takes the family's brass-barrelled pistol and follows tribesmen to the city, where he sells it for five dollars. That night a Moor talks until dawn about Mulai Idris, a sacred town where no Europeans may enter. The boy walks there and falls to his knees at the sight of its white walls.
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Which edition is right for me
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Mason, A. E. W., et al. The Times Red Cross Story Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-times-red-cross-story-book.
Mason, A. E. W., Milne, A. A., Mackenzie, C., Freeman, R. A., & Deeping, W. (2026). The Times Red Cross story book. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-times-red-cross-story-book
Mason, A. E. W., A. A. Milne, Compton Mackenzie, R. Austin Freeman, and Warwick Deeping. The Times Red Cross Story Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-times-red-cross-story-book.
@book{mason2026times,
author = {Mason, A. E. W. and Milne, A. A. and Mackenzie, Compton and Freeman, R. Austin and Deeping, Warwick},
title = {The Times Red Cross Story Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-times-red-cross-story-book}
}
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What is The Times Red Cross Story Book about?
It is a collection of eighteen short stories by novelists who served in the First World War. The tales range from comedy and ghost stories to duels, adventure and romance, set in Morocco, Canada, Cornwall, Paris and Belgium.
Who wrote the stories in The Times Red Cross Story Book?
A. E. W. Mason, A. A. Milne, Compton Mackenzie, R. Austin Freeman, Warwick Deeping, Quiller-Couch, Oliver Onions, Ian Hay and several others each contribute a story, labeled with the regiment or service the author belonged to.
Do the stories in this book connect to each other?
No. Each story stands on its own, with its own characters, place and tone. You can read them in order or pick any title, because nothing in one tale depends on another.
The author
A. E. W. Mason
1865–1948 · English novelist
Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (1865–1948) was a British novelist and politician, born in London, where he also died. He wrote The Four Feathers (1902), At the Villa Rose (1910), and The House of the Arrow (1924). He served as a Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1906 to 1910.
More by A. E. W. Mason; A. A. Milne; Compton Mackenzie; R. Austin Freeman; Warwick Deeping; others
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