The Happy Warrior

"The Happy Warrior" by A. S. M. Hutchinson is a tale set in Hertfordshire during the early 1900s, where young Egbert Hunt struggles with the change that comes over the Letham family as they jump into nobility. This novel explores themes of social class and individual battles as Egbert's gloomy personality goes against the excitement that surrounds the Lethams rising in social status. The story kicks off with Egbert, just fourteen, working for the now Lord and Lady Burdon, watching them adjust to their very new positions. You see Egbert's dislike towards his circumstances and the shifts caused by the Burdon's new titles - he starts facing taunts from others, deals with his own bad mood, and is forced to face the reality of his employer's bigger social standing. All while this happens, the story suggests a wider network of social interactions and individual stories, as the Burdons work through their updated and altered circumstances, preparing the ground for a story of luck, mistakes, youth, and the complexity of what happens to one's drive.