The Regeneration Trilogy is a series of three novels by

Pat Barker Dame Patricia Mary W. Barker ( Drake; born 8 May 1943) is an English writer and novelist. She has won many awards for her fiction, which centres on themes of memory, trauma, survival and recovery. She is known for her Regeneration Trilogy, p ...

on the subject of the final part of 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 ...

, focusing primarily on 1917 and 1918. The novels blend fact and fiction, hanging on a framework of factual events, an interwoven set of fictional story-lines of real people with fictional characters. The first novel of the series ''Regeneration'' was published in 1991, followed by ''

The Eye in the Door ''The Eye in the Door'' is a novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1993, and forming the second part of the '' Regeneration'' trilogy. ''The Eye in the Door'' is set in London, beginning in mid-April 1918, and continues the interwoven storie ...

'' (1993) and ''

The Ghost Road ''The Ghost Road'' is a war novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1995 and winner of the Booker Prize. It is the third volume of a trilogy that follows the fortunes of shell-shocked British army officers towards the end of the First World Wa ...

'' (1995). The broad themes outlined across the three books are the modernisation of medicine in the treatment of trauma and

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

with its differing application in relation to

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

— the progressive and considerate cutting-edge Freudian treatment for officers versus the regressive, aggressive, and brutal

aversion therapy Aversion therapy is a form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort. This conditioning is intended to cause the patient to associate the stimulus wit ...

for the lower ranks. Also, the theme of

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

— hetero-, bi-, and homo-sexuality — is prevalent throughout and its interplay again across the social classes. The main characters are: * Dr William Rivers, the noted Freudian psychiatrist and

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

, the distinguished war hero and famous

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

and patient of Rivers *

Billy Prior Billy Prior is a fictional character in Pat Barker's ''Regeneration Trilogy'' of novels set during World War I. Overview Prior, often called by his second name, is an intelligent, deeply cynical soldier whom we first meet recovering from shell shoc ...

, a fictional lieutenant from a working class background suffering from gross war trauma and patient of Rivers In 2012, ''The Observer'' named the trilogy in its entirety as one of "The 10 best historical novels".

''Regeneration (1991)''

The Eye in the Door

''The Ghost Road''

References