This is the annotated edition including a rare and very detailed essay about the life and works of the author.
It is a common tribute to Sir Barrie that he is whimsical. We might repeat that tribute when speaking of this volume, Echoes of the War, but hasten to add that this time it is not the same kind as that which delights us so in “A Kiss for Cinderella” or “Peter Pan.” There is less froth and more substance, though this does not imply by any means that the lightness of touch is not there. The four one act plays contained in this book are of the war, but not about the war, for their interest centers not in those who go, but in those whose dear ones go. Mingled with the khaki that flits thru the pages is the black of mourning, and once we catch the sheen of a wedding dress. And there are gray hairs and worn faces that contrast with the eager-eyed, newly-commissioned young second lieutenant, and grave voices as well as gay. In plot the four plays are distinct and individual, but this they have in common, that they are Barrie at his best.
