Arch Whitehouse

THE GREAT WAR IN THE AIR BIBLIOGRAPHY PROJECT

Arch Whitehouse

Whitehouse, Arch
Hero Without Honor
Doubleday & Co.
New York
1972

322 pp

Estimated Value: $10 - $20

Let me say right off the bat: what a happy review this is to write. This is Whitehouse's best novel.

The writings of Arch Whitehouse have remained controversial in the WW1 aero-enthusiast community. The New Jersey born author who served first as a soldier, then as an aerial gunner and finally as a scout pilot, went on to become something of a fixture in the post-war "pulp fiction" scene. His stories, often fantastic concoctions mixing fact and fantasy, appeared in many of the adventure magazines of the day. Like the "Biggles" author W.E. Johns, Whitehouse was able to infuse his stories with an element of realism as only one who had "been there" truly could.

The dozen or so full length novels written by Arch Whitehouse generally fall into two categories: his "adult" works and his novels for younger readers. As I've observed before, these lines are often blurred in his books. Plot lines are usually very straightforward and his character's are generally "good guys" working from the simple motivation of King and Country. Whitehouse's dialog generally falls flat and he seldom delivers a character with any real complexity. The one area where the author does excel though, is in his flying and fighting scenes.

Hero Without Honor tells the story of Max Kenyon, a youngster who leaves the slum life of a Newark, New Jersey tenement behind after signing up to sail across the Atlantic and fight for England. Following what Kenyon believes to be his ancestral heritage, he enlists in the London Scottish and quickly shows proficiency as a Lewis machine gunner. During his first taste of combat at the Battle of Neuve Chappelle, Kenyon displays quick thinking and a fearless nerve and manages to hold a position that that becomes critical to the success of the battle. Later, back in England recovering from wounds he learns that a cowardly officer had been decorated after claiming success for Kenyon's actions in the battle. Thus begins Max Kenyon's ambition to achieve recognition out of this war and never return to the life he left behind in America.

In the course of this story, Kenyon moves on to being an air gunner, an officer and pilot and eventually a top ace. Along the way there be romance, heroics, ruthlessness and an eventually, a Victoria Cross.

Hero Without Honor is unique for an Arch Whitehouse tale. Where most of his stories tend to take place within a single squadron or time period, and with a plot often revolving around a mystery involving spies and espionage, this novel has a larger more sweeping feel to it. Spanning virtually the entire war, readers are provided with an ample amount of realistic characters, equipment and battle scenes. The payoff here is delivered in a finely crafted narrative, rich in the minutia of the day to day life of an RFC officer. Quarters, finances, uniforms and professional relationships are used to an effectiveness Whitehouse has never quite pulled off in his earlier works. Gone too are the author's characteristic "historical sermons" that tend to bog down his books. In addition, Hero Without Honor serves up Whitehouse's best written dialog. This is easily the most satisfying of all his novels.

At the heart of the this story, of course, is Max Kenyon. For once Whitehouse has created an anti-hero unlike any of his characters that came before. Kenyon is imbued with a depth and complexity that seemed beyond the author's earlier skills as a writer. Both arrogant and insecure, Kenyon is a fully realized character; not quite a bad guy, but certainly one that the reader will find himself holding away at an arm's length distance. Somewhat of a cad, Kenyon is also the first Whitehouse character that I remember having sex. Nothing too racy, to be sure, but easily his most mature story.

I won't give any "spoilers" here, but some of the standout scenes in this book revolve around Kenyon's work in the rear seat of a Sopwith Strutter, a fairly long stint testing experimental types at Upavon and then finally his first combats flying Pups with RFC 66 Squadron. None of this will disappoint.

If I have any criticisms of this book they come towards the end, which has a bit of a rushed feel to it. This is probably Whitehouse's longest novel, and after 300 or so very detailed pages he seems to suddenly hurry it along to it's inevitable conclusion. This is a small complaint though, being as I was simply delighted to have found Arch Whitehouse's best novel.