Plot Summary (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes
Plot Summary
Overview of the novel
Strange Meeting is a powerful WWI novel written by Susan Hill and published in 1971. The title draws its name from a famous poem by Wilfred Owen, the celebrated war poet of the First World War. This connection immediately signals the novel's engagement with the literary tradition of war writing and its exploration of the profound human experiences during this devastating conflict.
The title's reference to Wilfred Owen's poetry is significant—Owen was one of the most famous British war poets, known for his haunting portrayals of the trenches and the psychological trauma of WWI. By naming her novel after his work, Hill positions her story within this established literary tradition of war writing.
The novel is carefully structured into three distinct parts, with each section progressively deepening our understanding of the characters and the brutal realities of trench warfare. Hill also includes an afterword, where she reflects on her intentions for the work, revealing that she wanted to create a story about love and human connection as much as about the horrors of war.
Part one: Recovery and return
John's time in hospital and at home
The novel opens with our protagonist, John Hilliard, recuperating from combat injuries in a military hospital. During his stay, he encounters Doctor Crawford, a figure from his past whom John intensely dislikes. This uncomfortable reunion sets the tone for John's strained relationships and foreshadows the isolation he feels.
When John is granted sick leave to return home, we witness a deeply troubling situation. Ironically, his inability to sleep and his profound discomfort do not stem from traumatic memories of battle. Instead, John discovers that he despises being at home in England. His family—comprising his father, his mother Constance, and his sister Beth (with whom he was once close)—seem unable to comprehend what he has endured at the front. This lack of understanding creates a painful emotional distance. John's family show no recognition of the reality of his war experiences, and this alienation becomes unbearable. Paradoxically, he feels relief when he is well enough to return to the battlefield, preferring the dangers of war to the suffocating incomprehension of home life.
Central Irony of the Novel
One of the most striking aspects of Strange Meeting is the profound irony that John feels more alienated at home than at the front. This reversal of expectations reveals how war has fundamentally changed him and highlights the unbridgeable gap between soldiers' experiences and civilian understanding. The supposed safety and comfort of home becomes more psychologically traumatic than the battlefield itself.
Back at the battalion
Upon returning to his unit, John confronts the harsh reality that many of the men he knew have been killed in action. Colonel Garrett, the battalion commander, appears to have aged dramatically under the weight of his responsibilities. John's batman (personal servant) has died and been replaced by a soldier named Coulter. These losses underscore the constant turnover and the ever-present threat of death in the trenches.
John is then assigned to share quarters with a newly arrived officer called David Barton, who will be waiting with him at a camp until they receive orders to advance to the front line. David is inexperienced in warfare, but despite their different levels of experience, the two men develop a close and meaningful friendship very quickly. The bond they form becomes central to the novel's emotional core.
The rapid formation of John and David's friendship reflects the intense bonds that developed between soldiers in wartime. Facing constant danger and death together, soldiers often formed deeper connections in weeks than they might have in years during peacetime.
Also present in their group is Franklin, a new Adjutant who seems emotionally detached from his fellow soldiers. Towards the end of this section, John and David come across the wreckage of a downed German aircraft. For David, this becomes his first encounter with a dead body, marking his initial confrontation with the stark reality of death in war.
Part two: The Feuvry front
Journey to the front line
In the second part, Company B—the unit to which John and David belong—begins travelling towards the Feuvry front line. The conditions are immediately difficult, as there are insufficient horses for all the men, forcing David to make the journey on foot. In a letter he is writing (the novel uses letters as a narrative device to reveal characters' inner thoughts), David describes Feuvry as a devastated place. The town has been heavily shelled, with almost no buildings remaining intact. It had been occupied by German forces in 1914, leaving it in ruins.
The death of Harris
When the men finally reach their temporary accommodation (known as billets), they discover that a new recruit named Harris has become paralysed by fear. Overcome by terror, Harris has sequestered himself in the cellar of their building. David speaks with the frightened man and manages to persuade him to come out of the cellar, showing compassion and leadership.
David then goes to fetch a drink to help calm Harris's nerves. However, whilst David is away carrying out this act of kindness, a shell lands directly on the billets. Harris is killed instantly. David experiences overwhelming guilt, believing himself responsible for Harris's death. He reasons that if Harris had remained in the cellar as he wanted, he would have been safe from the shell. This incident profoundly affects David and marks a turning point in his psychological state.
Harris's Death: A Turning Point
The death of Harris represents a crucial moment in David's transformation. His first experience of feeling directly responsible for another man's death (even though it was not his fault) begins the process of emotional hardening that will continue throughout the novel. This incident illustrates the impossible moral positions soldiers found themselves in—acts of kindness could have fatal consequences, and there was no way to predict or control outcomes in the chaos of war.
Emotional transformation
David writes another letter home in which he reveals that he is becoming emotionally hardened by his experiences. The war is changing him, making him less sensitive to the constant horror surrounding him. Meanwhile, John reflects that the most difficult aspect of warfare for him is accepting the deaths of so many men and growing accustomed to the continuous arrival of new replacements, knowing many will soon die.
At the end of part two, David is sent to the front lines alongside a runner named Grosse. Their mission is to construct a map of the area—a dangerous reconnaissance task. Whilst at the front, David witnesses a shelling that kills several men. He also sees a soldier shot dead by a German sniper. By the time he returns from this mission, David has become emotionally numb. Having seen so many deaths and understanding that such losses occur every single day, he finds himself unable to feel as he once did. The war is stripping away his humanity.
David's emotional numbing is a common psychological response to extreme trauma. This defensive mechanism helped soldiers continue functioning in unbearable circumstances, but it came at the cost of their humanity and emotional wellbeing. Hill shows this transformation happening gradually over the course of Part Two.
Part three: Crisis and separation
David's letter and personal news
The final section opens with David writing an extensive letter home. He fears that military censors might prevent it from being sent, but he feels a powerful need to communicate the truth about what is happening at the front. He wants those in England to understand the reality of the war. In this letter, David expresses his belief that the soldiers have become "drones" rather than men—dehumanised by the relentless demands of battle.
Theme of Dehumanization
David's description of soldiers as "drones" rather than men captures one of the novel's most powerful themes. The war doesn't just kill soldiers physically—it strips away their humanity, reducing them to mechanical beings who simply follow orders and continue functioning despite the horror around them. This loss of humanity is presented as a form of death even for those who physically survive.
During this period, John receives a letter from his sister Beth, informing him that she has become engaged to a lawyer named Henry Partington. This news provokes anger in John, suggesting his complex feelings about his sister and civilian life continuing whilst he suffers at the front.
The reconnaissance mission
John and David are subsequently sent on a reconnaissance mission to gather intelligence about enemy positions. They begin the assignment with some of their men, but when a flare illuminates their location, revealing them to the enemy, they are forced to retreat. They suffer casualties during this withdrawal.
Following this failed mission, David writes another letter home in which he admits that the unending stream of deaths is draining his courage. The constant loss is taking a severe psychological toll.
Plans for the future
One evening, David and John discuss what they will do after the war ends, imagining their futures. Suddenly, they realise with shocking clarity that they are basing all their thoughts on a significant assumption: that they will both still be alive when the war concludes. This moment of realisation reveals the fragility of their existence and their desperate hope for survival.
This scene powerfully illustrates the precariousness of life in wartime. The friends' sudden awareness of their unspoken assumption—that they will survive—brings into sharp focus the ever-present reality of death that they normally try to push aside. It's a moment of devastating clarity about their circumstances.
The advance and John's injury
Soon after, news arrives that they are to advance. During this advance, the two friends lose track of each other in the chaos of battle. John is struck by a shell and takes shelter in a hole. Horrifyingly, this hole contains dead bodies. John suffers severe injuries and ultimately loses his leg. For an extended period, his condition is too grave for him to be transported back to England.
David's fate
Whilst John is recovering, he receives a devastating letter from David's parents. They inform him that David is missing and presumed dead. When John is eventually well enough to return to England, he visits David's parents to offer whatever comfort he can. He tells them that it is highly unlikely their son is still alive, given the circumstances of his disappearance.
However, Hill deliberately leaves David's fate ambiguous. The novel ends without confirming whether David is truly dead. When John speaks to David's parents, David's facial expression remains "somewhat ambiguous", leaving readers uncertain about the truth. This open ending reflects the reality of war, where many soldiers simply disappeared, their fates unknown to their loved ones.
The Ambiguous Ending
Hill's decision to leave David's fate uncertain is deeply significant. This deliberate ambiguity serves multiple purposes:
- It reflects the historical reality that thousands of soldiers were listed as "missing" during WWI, their bodies never recovered or identified
- It denies readers the closure of a definitive ending, mirroring the experience of families who never learned what happened to their loved ones
- It suggests that in some ways, the uncertainty is worse than confirmed death—the inability to grieve properly or move forward
- It keeps David alive in the reader's imagination, just as he remains alive in John's memory and the memories of his parents
The author's afterword
In her afterword to the novel, Susan Hill provides valuable insight into her creative intentions. She explains that whilst Strange Meeting is undeniably a war novel, she wanted it to be equally a novel about love. The deep friendship between John and David, and the various forms of human connection portrayed throughout the narrative, are as central to the work as the depiction of warfare itself. This dual focus elevates the novel beyond a simple war story, making it an exploration of how love and friendship endure even in the most brutal circumstances.
A Novel About Love and War
Hill's revelation that she intended Strange Meeting to be as much about love as about war is crucial to understanding the work. The novel explores:
- The profound bonds that form between soldiers facing death together
- The various forms of love (friendship, familial, romantic longing)
- How human connection provides meaning and hope even in the darkest circumstances
- The contrast between the authentic connections at the front and the failed connections at home
This dual focus makes the novel richer and more universal than a purely military narrative would be.
Key Points to Remember:
- Strange Meeting is structured in three parts plus an afterword, chronicling John Hilliard's journey through WWI and his friendship with David Barton
- The novel's title references Wilfred Owen's poem, connecting it to the WWI poetry tradition
- A central irony: John feels more alienated at home in England than at the front, as his family cannot understand his war experiences
- Part One establishes John's character and introduces David; Part Two shows the brutal reality at Feuvry and David's emotional hardening after Harris's death; Part Three depicts the friends' separation and David's ambiguous fate
- The novel ends without confirming David's death, leaving his fate deliberately uncertain—reflecting the reality that many soldiers simply vanished during WWI
- Hill intended the novel to be about love and human connection as much as about war, with the friendship between John and David at its emotional heart