Major Geoffrey Cecil Gilbert McNeill-Moss (11 December 1885 – 13 August 1954) was a British soldier and writer, who published under the name Geoffrey Moss. Moss was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, and was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

in 1905. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he reached the rank of Major, before retiring in 1919 to devote himself to his writing. His first novel, ''Sweet Pepper'' (1923) – a

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

set in the former

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

in the aftermath of the First World War – was a bestseller and was followed a year later by the popular and influential short story

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

, ''Defeat'' (1923). Thereafter Moss published roughly a book a year until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his œuvre comprising novels, short story collections, verse, children's stories and works of non-fiction on European politics and military matters. Although entirely forgotten today, Moss's works seem to have been extremely popular among general readers (if not always among

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

) and influential among his fellow writers. ''Defeat'', which is made up of six thematically linked short stories dealing with life in Germany in the wake of defeat in the First World War, influenced the attitudes of a number of British writers towards Germany in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, including

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

who attributed his pro-German sympathies in the early 1920s to Moss's stories. The popular appeal of the subject matter is also attested to by the fact that "

Isn't Life Wonderful ''Isn't Life Wonderful'' is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith for his company D. W. Griffith Productions, and distributed by United Artists. It was based on the short story "Isn’t Life Wonderful?" in th ...

!", the penultimate story in the collection, was made into an acclaimed film by American director

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

in the mid-1920s. Nevertheless, despite a prolific output between the wars and the popular appeal of his work, Moss never received plaudits from the critics, who tended to dismiss his fiction as sentimental and old-fashioned.

Bibliography

* ''Notes on Elementary Field Training'' (n.d.) * ''Sweet Pepper'' (1923) * ''Defeat'' (1924, reprinted 1925 and 1932) * ''Whipped Cream'' (1926) * ''New Wine: A Nocturne in Tinsel'' (1927) * ''The Three Cousins'' (1928) * ''That Other Love'' (1929) * ''Little Green Apples'' (1930) * ''Wet Afternoon'' (1931) * ''A Modern Melody'' (1932) * ''I Face the Stars'' (1933) * ''Thursby'' (1933) * ''A Box of Dates'' – “History Rhymes for Children and Grown-Up People” (1934) * ''The Epic of the Alcazar: A History of the Siege of the Toledo Alcazar, 1936'' (1937) * ''The Legend of Badajoz'' (1937) * ''Standing up to Hitler'' (1939)

References

*Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 16 August 1954

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Geoffrey 1885 births 1954 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British people of the Spanish Civil War English writers Grenadier Guards officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Rugby School