The Woman of Knockaloe

The Woman of Knockaloe

The 1927 Readers Library edition of 'Barbed Wire' (renamed from ‘The Woman of Knockaloe’)
Author	Hall Caine
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Set in	Isle of Man
Published	1923 by Cassell and Company Ltd.
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	247 pp (Readers Library edition)
OCLC	474708677

The Woman of Knockaloe: A Parable is a melodramatic novel by Hall Caine first published in 1923. Set on the Isle of Man during the First World War, a young woman finds herself drawn to one of the nearby German prisoners of war. They begin a romance in the face of the fierce hostility of the local community which eventually drives them to commit suicide. The story has been described as a “minor masterpiece.”

Hall Caine was 61 when World War I broke out in 1914. Vehemently in favour of the conflict, he put aside fiction writing to dedicate himself to writing in support of the war effort. His work included articles for the English, American and Italian press, as well as King Albert's Book and The Drama of 375 Days. However, as the war came to an end, Caine grew disillusioned by both the conflict and the peace that came of the Treaty of Versailles.The Woman of Knockaloe was a result of Caine's sense of responsibility for his earlier encouragement of the war, as he wrote to George Bernard Shaw with an advanced copy of the book:

“Rightly or wrongly I did my best for the war, and now, as you see, I am trying… to do my best for the peace.”

In December 1922 Caine had a dream which included the central parts of the narrative for the novel, concerning the Knockaloe internment camp that had existed for five years during the war not far from Caine's home at Greeba Castle. He wrote the novel based on the dream in the months that followed. However, he did not plan to publish it, claiming that he had written it “solely for the relief of his own feelings at the thought of the present lamentable condition of the world.” However, Newman Flower, a partner of Cassell and Co., came across the manuscript when visiting Caine's home in the spring of 1923 and convinced Caine that it should be published.

Mona Craine and her brother react with nationalist pride when World War I is announced. In contrast, their father, Robert Craine, a tenant farmer at Knockaloe Farm, is concerned and dismayed at the bad that he fears will come of it.