Recruit

by Paul Fraser Collard Book 0.6 in the Jack Lark series.

First published 2015

Amazon

2.5(5)

Forced to leave London, Jack Lark takes the Queen’s shilling and enters the British Army believing a red coat may offer the future denied to him in the East End. Training quickly strips away any romance. Sergeant Slater rules the recruits through humiliation and violence, while Jack’s friendship with the increasingly desperate Charlie Evans puts loyalty at odds with military discipline.

Set during Jack’s first experience of army life, the story follows the routines, punishments and rigid hierarchy that shaped a Victorian recruit before he ever faced battle. The choices Jack makes here establish both his attachment to fellow soldiers and his willingness to bend rules when obedience threatens the people he considers his own.

Jack’s training takes place within an army that is professionalising but still relies heavily on discipline enforced through fear, class hierarchy and personal authority. The barracks reveal how soldiers are made before they ever enter a campaign: habits are broken, obedience drilled and friendships formed under pressure. The experience helps explain why Jack later understands both the strength of military comradeship and the cruelty institutions can excuse in its name.