Eternity in an Hour

This novel, published in 1932, has the subtitle A study in childhood and is largely autobiographical. With his father an army officer, Frank, the central character, had an interest in the military from an early age — “Father was ‘the major’... His military training reflected itself in all his habits: he was punctual, precise, methodical.” The final chapter describes the outbreak of war and his brother’s exultant response to it: “What I've been waiting for! I knew it would come and now it has!” For Frank, however, there was only the disappointment of being too young to serve:
“If only he could join too! In four years’ time he'd be 18 — but the war would be over and done with long before then. Perhaps, though it wouldn't?”

The author, Vernon Knowles (born 17 April 1899), grew up in Adelaide, South Australia. His English father,  a major in the army, died in 1911. Both of his brothers served in the First World War: Harold with the 44th Battalion and Lyndon in the 3rd Battalion. He attended the University of Western Australia but did not graduate. His first book of poetry was published in 1917. He moved to London in 1921 and his first short stories and his first novel appeared in 1926. He returned home to Adelaide in 1938 and, claiming to be destitute, sought a grant from the Commonwealth Literary Fund. With this funding, he went back to London but did not prosper. Towards the end of his life he received a pension from the Royal Literature Society and he died in 1968 in conditions of miserable squalor.


From his father the central character he had learnt a military sense of patriotism: in response to a question how he would show his love for his country, he knew to say “By being ready to die for it” — “This love was expected of him. The necessity of his having it had been drilled into him assiduously and he had naturally accepted the duty without question.”
 By the time the First World War had started, the central character had suffered two major bereavements: his father had a stroke and died within a few days; his friend Edgar was killed by a shark. His emotional response was one of self-pity:
“There's no more comfort left in the world [he thought]... He felt afraid, dreadfully afraid...”