AustLit

'Eight years in the making, The Lost Thoughts Of Soldiers is Delia Falconers' second novel following her debut The Service Of Clouds (1997). The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers takes place in a single morning of 1898 in Georgia. Here, we follow the memories of Frederick Benteen, a captain in General Custer's seventh cavalry during the Plains Indian Wars, as he reflects on the passing of his life; its loves and its regrets, both inextricably shaped by the battle of Little Bighorn where he was the only soldier left alive. General Custer, killed in the battle, has been dead for over twenty years when we meet Captain Benteen, yet Benteen remains haunted by the outcome of the fight, in which Custer was lauded as a hero while Benteen was never forgiven for his survival.' (Introduction)