Proust and Military Strategy

Publisher’s Description:

Proust viewed the First World War with compassion. He suffered alongside his fellow citizens while refusing to condemn the German people on account of the war. Yet this study opens up a previously unexplored avenue: through his daily reading of several newspapers, Proust developed a keen interest in military strategy, battle structures, the role of leadership, and the hidden intentions that must be deciphered. Influenced by the writings of exceptionally brilliant commentators : Joseph Reinach, Henry Bidou, and Colonel Feyler in Switzerland he became fascinated by themes that also interested the novelist of romantic jealousy above all: the mechanisms of deception.

Saint-Loup’s views on strategy highlight the major contemporary controversies of the time and can themselves be critically examined. The strategist and his military operations provide a detailed perspective on the writer situated at the heart of his work, while the scenes and debates of the Great War unfold before the reader’s eyes.