The first book to provide a strong theoretical examination of the political ideologies of Brasillach, Vailland, and Malraux, Dr. Tame's study deals in particular with their contributions to the concept of the ideological hero. From different positions of the political spectrum, the three twentieth-century French writers produced what has been called politically committed literature. The principal concepts explored are of «Fascist man» in two novels by Brasillach, the figure of the «Bolshevik» in three novels by Vailland, and that of the Communist hero in three novels by Malraux. One of Dr. Tame's significant findings is that the various images of the ideological hero presented by the three novelists have more in common with one another than has been generally supposed.

French novels such as "Madame Bovary" and "The Stranger" are staples of high school and college literature courses. This work provides coverage of the French novel since its origins in the 16th century, with an emphasis on novels most commonly studied in high school and college courses in world literature and in French culture and civilization.

André Malraux's output, spanning some 55 years, ranges from novels to philosophical essays, studies on the plastic arts and memorialist essays. The present volume is significantly innovative in that it sets out to elucidate this diversity by focusing, for the first time and from a variety of perspectives, on the erosion of boundaries which characterises Malraux's work. This erosion is multi-faceted and includes the crossing of genre boundaries; the appropriation of the literary text as political vehicle; the exploitation of the literary text as historical document; contemporary history as a source of literary texts; the slippage between autobiography and the novel, autobiography and the memorialist essay and between fiction and the memorialist essay. Contributors to this volume explore the complex relationship between fact and fiction underpinning Malraux's writing, and also his life. An understanding of Malraux's determination to ignore boundaries is crucial to the understanding of his life and work. In this respect the present study will interest academics and students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, of French literary and cultural studies.

Praise for the print edition:"...a useful and engaging reference to the vast world of the novel in world literature."

This volume presents the intellectual autobiographies of fourteen leading scholars in the fields of history, literature, film and cultural studies who have dedicated a considerable part of their career to researching the history and memories of France during the Second World War. Basedin five different countries, Margaret Atack, Marc Dambre, Laurent Douzou, Hilary Footitt, Robert Gildea, Richard J. Golsan, Bertram M. Gordon, Christopher Lloyd, Colin Nettelbeck, Denis Peschanski, Renée Poznanski, Henry Rousso, Peter Tame, and Susan Rubin Suleiman have playeda crucial role in shaping and reshaping what has become a thought-provoking field of research. This volume, which also includes an interview with historian Robert O. Paxton, clarifies the rationales and driving forces behind their work and thus behind our current understanding of one of the darkest and most vividly remembered pages of history in contemporary France.

Certain images of Paris have become icons for the left, but the Paris of the right has received far less attention. This groundbreaking collection of essays examines the relationship between Paris and the right in the twentieth century, exploring how political leaders and parties have depicted and controlled the streets, people and history of Paris, and how the city has been both context and inspiration for journalists and novelists of the right. The first part focuses on the relationship between the right, the street and the people, and describes some of the most contentious political movements in recent French history, from the anti-parliamentary leagues of the Belle Époque to the contemporary Front National. The second part examines the importance of Paris for de Gaulle and his successors in their exercise of authority and control, whether in the media, the streets, or municipal politics. Lastly, the book explores the Paris imagined and experienced by right-wing novelists from Charles Maurras to the post-war “Hussards”, mapping out an intellectual topography and emphasising the tensions between a real and imaginary city. A Franco-British collaboration spanning history, literary studies and political science, this volume offers an original contribution to the political geography, culture and symbolism of the French capital.