Death of a Hero

Death of a Hero is the story of a young English artist named George Winterbourne who enlists in the army at the beginning of World War I.

George takes Elizabeth's close friend as a lover, however, and their marriage begins to fall apart.

Aldington's portrayal of society contains "clumsily satirical portraits" of T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound,[2] both of whom were close personal acquaintances.

When he returns home, he finds that he has been so affected by the war that he cannot relate to his friends, including his wife and lover.

Aldington, a veteran of World War I, claimed that his novel was accurate in terms of speech and style.

It contained extensive colloquial speech, including profanity, discussion of sexuality and graphic descriptions of the war and of trench life.

When Aldington first published his novel, he redacted a number of passages to ensure the publication of his book would not be challenged.

[...] At my request the publishers are removing what they believe would be considered objectionable, and are placing asterisks to show where omissions have been made.