- Michael Morpurgo

Private Peaceful

By Michael Morpurgo
Buy Now

A stunning edition of this modern classic of World War One, featuring an introduction by the author and insightful testimonies from soldiers.

Told in the voice of Private Tommo Peaceful, the story follows twenty-four hours at the front, and captures his memories of his family and his village life – by no means as tranquil as it appeared.

Full of vivid detail and engrossing atmosphere, leading to a dramatic and moving conclusion, Private Peaceful is both a compelling love story and a deeply moving account of the First World War.

Extra material:

-Introduction by Michael Morpurgo
-Inspiration letter by Michael Morpurgo
-Background on the execution of British soldiers in WW1 for cowardice, including personal testimony from soldiers

Author: Michael Morpurgo
Format: Paperback
Ageband: 9 to 12
Release Date: 02 Jun 2016
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-0-00-748644-1
Michael Morpurgo OBE is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children, and has sold more than 35 million books around the world. He has written more than 150 novels and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, the Whitbread Award and the Blue Peter Book Award, while several of his books have been adapted for stage and screen, including the global theatrical phenomenon War Horse. Michael was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005, and founded the charity Farms for City Children with his wife, Clare. He was knighted in 2018 for services to literature and charity.

”'His [Tommo’s] journey from agricultural labourer to cannon fodder is movingly told… Michael Morpurgo is expert at getting through to his readers. He writes here about events that should never be forgotten nor forgiven, and does so most effectively.” - Independent

”'Full of warmth as well as grief, conveying vividly how precious it is to be alive” - Sunday Times

”'The best novel he’s written since The Butterfly Lion.” - Times

”'Deserved to last as an insight into the First World War in the same way as, say, The Silver Sword or Goodnight Mr Tom.” - Telegraph

”'A poignant, elegiac novel.” - Daily Mail

Related Articles

Private Peaceful UK theatre tour

Now touring until 9 July 2022 The Peaceful brothers, Tommo and Charlie, have a tough rural childhood facing the loss of their father, financial hardship and a cruel landlord. Their fierce loyalty to each other pulls them through, until one day they both fall for the same girl. And then… Read More

Edinburgh Fringe – Private Peaceful

About the show: ‘Private Peaceful at the theatre is a moving experience that not only tells the story of a young soldier’s final day in World War One, but perhaps more importantly conveys the strength of human spirit’ (Michael Morpurgo). ‘The horrors of war and the joyfulness of life are… Read More

Michael at the memorial of Thomas Samuel Henry Peacefull

Michael Morpurgo’s novel Private Peaceful was partly inspired by the memorial of a young soldier that he saw in the Bedford House Cemetery in Ypres, Flanders.  A few years after the book first published, Maxine Keeble  was researching her family tree and thought that there might be a connection. She… Read More

Private Peaceful | Pick Me Up Theatre

From 14 – 18 March 2017 a one-man stage adaptation of Private Peaceful will be performed at the John Cooper Studio Theatre, York. Private Peaceful tells the story of a young First World War soldier as he recalls his childhood memories while waiting for dawn on the Western Front. George Stagnell plays… Read More

Michael Morpurgo: The Somme should be a lesson to us all

Michael Morpurgo has written many, many books. But for this former Children’s Laureate, it is the ones he has written about war, most notably of course War Horse, and Private Peaceful, with which his name is most synonymous. And so he accompanied ITV News as they visited the cemeteries that stretch… Read More