Author(s): Phyllis Johnston

NZ Military

Phyllis Johnston is an experienced author who has written Fugitive Soldier for teenagers. James is a fifteen year old brought up on his parent's farm where he is working in 1917. He has a bad relationship with his father - or is he really his father? There is mystery surrounding this relationship and its working out is an essential part of the story. James' response to his unhappiness and his father's verbal abuse is to escape to war in Europe. He joins the army almost by accident and the story relates his experiences in the training camps and the trenches in Belgium.