The First World War was a global kaleidoscope of opinions, ideas, and values that framed and reframed the conflict in varying ways as it was fought and in its aftermath. Empire is one of these frames of reference that has remained understudied, despite recent efforts from scholars to have it as a central focus. However, it is brought to attention by this compelling and dynamic study, Empire Between the Lines. In this meticulously researched book, Elizabeth Stice examines how imperial visions structured the perceptions of British and French soldiers through a close reading of the trench newspapers that proliferated in the various theatres of war. The work demonstrates how, despite the cultural turn within First World War historiography since the 1970s, the intellectual life of those who experienced the war still remains an area of study that reveals the scale of the conflict on all aspects of society. In the study of this global event, notions of empire have often been obscured or denied prominence. This examination firmly places itself within decolonial analysis as it attests to “bring the empire home,” thereby providing an insightful and timely assessment of imperial attitudes during the war.

Empire between the Lines is divided into six chapters that examine the way trench newspapers represented imperial attitudes among the troops. These iconic publications that were distributed among soldiers at the front and stationed behind the lines have acquired a significant body of scholarship in recent years. Their critical, sardonic tones, and jocular illustrations have been used as evidence of a war culture that enabled soldiers to endure the conflict. The trench newspapers have been used to assess language, culture, and emotion among those who served as they sought to survive the maelstrom. While this study continues these traditions, highlighting the way in which humorous depictions provided vital forms of relief, the significant contribution made by this study is that the author demonstrates there is something more in this evidence. Whether implied or direct, trench newspapers communicated imperial ideas among soldiers. These values may have been acquired through education and entertainment before the war, but they were mobilized in the conflict as a means of committing populations to the pursuit of victory for the state. British and French publications relied upon imperial values to cement a sense of identity and to reaffirm the righteousness of the pursuit of the war.

Chapter 1 places the work into context, connecting the study to the historiography of the war but also the development of postcolonial literature. Chapter 2 introduces the trench newspapers, detailing their humor, perspective, and the way in which they connected to the lives of those fighting the conflict. Chapter 3 explores the identities of those who created these trench newspapers and those who read the materials. Chapter 4 moves beyond the Western Front and considers the representation of empire within the battlefields of Mesopotamia. Chapter 5 explores how empire was used to motivate and sustain morale within the British and French armies. Chapter 6 brings the study to a close by assessing the way in which Germany and the actions of the German Army were understood through a lens of critical imperialism within the trench newspapers. Through this complete analysis, Stice evidences the profound and multifaceted manner in which empire served to mobilize French and British soldiers. The comparative perspective enables the study to draw lines of similarity and difference, not just in the context of cultural norms, but in the way the war was perceived by the wider public. Within France, this was a war that saw the nation being occupied, while in Britain this was a war where they occupied another nation; such differences connected to the histories of empire in both countries and reflected the presence of imperial visions in the minds of those who experienced the conflict.

Over a century since the denouement of the First World War, it is the attitudes and values of those who were witnesses to this event that provide us with points of reflection. Too often in the histories of all combatant nations, the accounts and experiences of those who had empire inflicted upon them have been obscured. This has been somewhat addressed in recent years as new studies have provided perspective on the way in which the war was a global affair. However, despite this growth of analysis, there remains a significant absence as to what these ideas of empire mean for those who were apparently fighting for it. The cemeteries in France, Flanders, Iraq, Greece, South Africa, and Turkey, where the fallen soldiers of the British Army, are buried, are remembered as having fought for God, King, and Empire. What the latter actually meant for those individuals who were themselves drawn from across the world has been neglected. The significance of Stice's work is that this question can now be raised and addressed by scholars to understand the experience of the war and its legacy.