Since Cozzens's whole career marks his movement toward greater and greater realism, all his novels are related to this one. But his use of this particular method begins with Castaway (1934) and continues throughout the rest of his career. By the publication of The Just and the Unjust (1942), Cozzens had perfected the method, and he used it best in Guard of Honor (1948), his Pulitzer Prize winner, and in By Love Possessed, his best seller.

While Bus Beal's problem takes center stage, the principal player in Guard of Honor turns out to be Col.

Norman Ross, a peacetime judge who, as an older man of reason, acts as Beal's mentor. As the story unfolds, Ross is the guard of Beal's honor. He recognizes that his commanding officer's will is frozen, and he manages, by doing what he can within the context set out for him, to hold the...