Trench Coat

"Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. We all know what a trench coat is but where does it comes from? What began as a sports coat was later adapted for officers fighting in the trenches of the First World War, hence the name. Since then trench coats have adorned soldiers, police detectives, Nazis, Hollywood stars, Mafiosi, spies and 'flashers.' Ernest Hemingway wore one to draw attention to his military service, but the trench coat also turns up in the work of James Joyce, Nancy Mitford, Graham Greene and Virginia Woolf.…