World War I: A Historical Exploration of Literature

Focusing on the war on the Western and Southern fronts and inclusive of material from all sides of the conflict, this book explores the novels and poems of significant soldier-writers alongside important contemporary historical documents. The literary works of the First World War are one of the richest sources we have for understanding one of the twentieth century's most significant conflicts. Not only do many of them have historical merit, but some were critically acclaimed by both contemporaries and subsequent scholars. For example, Henri Barbusse's Under Fire, one of the earliest novels of the war, won accolades in France and the respect of war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen as well as novelists Erich Maria Remarque and Ernest Hemingway. This book examines these works and those of war poets Rupert Brooke and John McCrae and others, providing context as well as opportunities to explore thematic elements with primary source documents, such as diaries, letters, memoirs, newspaper and journal articles, speeches, and government publications. It is unique in its use of literary and historical sources as mediums by which to both better understand the literature of the war and use literature to better understand the war itself.