 The result was "The Middle Parts of Fortune", published anonymously by Peter Davies and the Piazza Press in a numbered limited edition of 520 copies in 1929, which are now collectors' items.The book is an account in the vernacular of the lives of ordinary soldiers.The protagonist, Bourne, is the filter through which Manning's experiences are transposed into the lives of a group of men whose qualities interact in response to conflict and comradeship.