'There were horrors enough, but it was the unexpected detail that threw him afterwards and would not let him go' To mark the centenary of the First World War, Vintage is launching a unique collection of war fiction. April 2014 will see the publication of twelve works by the greatest writers of the last century, each tackling this most powerful and universal of subjects.

A magnificient novel Independent A beautiful and majestic fictional panorama -- John Updike A superb achievement Sunday Times Brilliantly explores the currents of guilt, shame and anger... Utterly satisfying, complete Scotsman Smoulders with slow-burning menace The Times

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults, as well as The Daydreamer, a children's novel illustrated by Anthony Browne. His first published work, a collection of short stories, First Love, Last Rites, won the Somerset Maugham Award. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, The Cement Garden, Enduring Love, Amsterdam, which won the 1998 Booker Prize, Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Solar and Sweet Tooth.