The Absolutist

England and France, 1916–1919. Tristan Sadler, a young infantryman, forms an intense attachment to fellow recruit Will Bancroft during training and service on the Western Front. Their relationship develops amid bullying, fear and the moral disintegration of trench warfare, but Tristan cannot speak openly about his sexuality or the depth of his feelings.

After the Armistice, Tristan travels to Norwich to return letters to Will’s sister and to confront the circumstances of Will’s death. Will’s decision to become an ‘absolutist’—a conscientious objector who refuses both combatant and non-combatant service—exposes him to military punishment and public hatred. The novel gradually reveals Tristan’s role in the tragedy, combining queer love, betrayal and survivor guilt with the treatment of dissent inside the wartime army.