American novelist Edith Wharton was living in Paris when World War I broke out in 1914. She obtained permission to visit sites behind the lines, including hospitals, ravaged villages, and trenches. ‘Fighting France, from Dunkerque to Belfort’ records her travels along the front in 1914 and 1915, and celebrates the indomitable spirit of the French people.
Edith Wharton was one of the first woman writers to be allowed to visit the war zones in France. This resulting collection of 6 essays presents a fascinating and unique perspective on wartime France by one of America’s great novelists. Written with Wharton’s distinctive literary skills to advocate American intervention in the war, this little-known war text demonstrates that she was a complex and accomplished propagandist.
However, these eyewitness accounts also demonstrate a troubling awareness of the human cost of war.