When Heloise Goodley ditched her City job and decided to attend officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, she had no prior military experience. On her arrival she was a complete novice: she’d never fired a rifle, she couldn’t march; she couldn’t make her bed; she couldn’t even shine her shoes.

An Officer and a Gentlewoman charts Goodley’s absorbing journey through Sandhurst and on to Afghanistan and gives an insight into the array of bizarre military behaviours and customs at this esoteric and hidden institution. With wit and sensitivity Goodley details her experiences as a cadet and the painful transition from civilian to soldier. Moreover, she rejects lazy preconceptions and sheds new light on what has hitherto been a bastion of maleness - the British Army.