Lovely War

James is a quiet and self-contained 19-year-old from Chelmsford, England. He meets Hazel at a parish dance in London when he is staying with his uncle before departing for France to serve in the British armed forces. Noticed for his sharpshooting, James becomes a sniper, killing many German soldiers at the front.

James and Hazel continue to correspond through the war. They meet for a weekend in Paris when James is allowed leave from the front. James suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, known at the time as shell shock, after his time at the front, particularly during the German offensive on March 21, 1918, known as Operation Michael, when the British 5th Army (James’s unit) suffered significant losses and James’s friend Frank Mason was killed in a shell explosion. James initially feels that he is incapable of being with Hazel after this trauma; he feels reduced to a mere shell of his former self, undeserving of anyone’s love. With Hazel’s persistence, James is convinced to resume their relationship. After the war, James and Hazel get married and have two children. James becomes an architect, as he’d dreamed of doing before the war.

Colette, a Belgian woman with a beautiful and soulful voice, meets Hazel at the YMCA camp in Saint-Nazaire, France. Colette loses her family and friends when the town of Dinant, where she has lived her whole life, is brutally attacked by German troops in 1914. Colette travels to Paris to live with her aunt, Tante Solange, and then volunteers with the YMCA, hoping to gain solace through helping others.

Colette falls in love some years later with Aubrey, whom she meets at the camp in 1918. Their love is not without obstacles, especially those caused by racial prejudice that views love between a Black man and a white woman as subversive and wrong. Colette and Aubrey eventually move to New York, get married, and become renowned musicians.

Aubrey is a talented ragtime pianist. His talent leads him to play with the New York 15th National Guard band, a band composed of Black servicemen, which becomes the 369th Regiment at the front in France. The men in this regiment (a real historical regiment), which became known as the Harlem Hellfighters, were renowned for their skillful and organized expertise in combat. They were publicly celebrated upon their return to New York in a parade that received considerable media coverage.

Aubrey befriends Hazel at the YMCA hut in 1918; Hazel is immediately drawn to his cheeky and confident sense of humor. Later, Aubrey meets and falls in love with Colette, whom he marries and continues performing with in New York after the war. As a Black man, Aubrey endures horrific treatment during and after the war, including being threatened at gunpoint for spending time with Colette at Saint-Nazaire.