Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort

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. This new critical edition aims to bring this neglected text into the field of Wharton studies, allowing critics and enthusiasts to re-evaluate her contribution as a war writer and to assess the significance of this period for her literary development.