Description
Book SynopsisThis biography explores the controversial life and work of 20th-century French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Celine, through the places and times in which he lived and in which he grounded his fiction. It also sheds light on crucial areas of French cultural, social, and political history.
Trade Review"Throughout his excellent, comprehensively documented critical biography, the best yet available in English, Hewitt contextualises his subject expertly."
Times Higher Education Supplement "Taking advantage of recent biographies written in French and of newly available materials, Hewitt skilfully uses - and, at time, abuses - the available sources. At its best, Hewitt's clear and understandable prose takes the reader inside Céline's novel. He points out what to look for, explains what is important, and makes interesting connections." Choice
"Very elegantly written book, which is also an intriguing presentation of French social and political life in the closing years of the nineteenth century and the first two-thirds of the twentieth." MLR
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations.
Preface.
1. A Parisian Childhood.
2. National Service: The Army and the Colonies.
3. The Student of Medicine.
4. The League of Nations.
5. Clichy and Montmartre.
6. Voyage au bout de la nuit.
7. The 'House of Literature'.
8. 1936.
9. Anti-Semitism.
10. Phoney War.
11. The Occupation.
12. Exile.
13. Meudon.
Conclusion.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
