The Long Green Shore: Text Classics

<p>Written in 1947 but not published until 1995, John Hepworth's debut novel is a gripping account of Australian soldiers fighting in New Guinea at the end of World War II.</p> <p>The product of Hepworth's own experience, <i>The Long Green Shore</i> recounts the lives - and deaths - of a group of soldiers battling the Japanese in the rain-soaked jungle. In sublime prose, it captures the terror and the monotony of war.</p> <p>On its publication <i>The Long Green Shore</i> was met with immediate critical acclaim. It was recognised as one of the world's great war novels.</p> <p><b>John Hepworth</b> was born in 1921 and lived in Melbourne. A journalist, author, playwright and poet, he is well remembered for his contribution to the <i>Nation Review</i> in the 1970s and for his work at the ABC. He wrote many books, some co-authored with Bob Ellis and others illustrated by Michael Leunig. He died in 1995 soon after learning that <i>The Long Green Shore</i> would finally be published.</p> <p>'Australia's <i>All Quiet on the Western Front</i>...The timeless record of a generation of men who had it hard and copped it sweet, and went off into battle not knowing what the day would bring.' Bob Ellis</p> <p>'This novel is a masterpiece of war fiction.' <i>Publishers Weekly</i></p>