By investigating representations of the war years in a selection of French crime novels from the mid-1940s to the present day, this book argues for the importance of crime fiction, and popular culture more generally, as active agents of memory in the ongoing debates over the legacies of the war years in contemporary France. -- .
Past Crimes, Present Memories
Focusing on the interplay between crime fiction and historical memory, this book examines how French crime novels reflect and shape perceptions of the Second World War. By analyzing works from the late 1940s to the 2000s, it reveals how this popular literary genre serves as a lens for understanding the complexities of France's wartime experiences and the cultural memories surrounding the Occupation. The study highlights the dynamic relationship between official narratives and popular interpretations of this contested period in French history.
Populist and widely disseminated, the French roman noir has a reputation as a minor genre with its roots in American popular culture. This study challenges such preconceptions and examines the genre as a critical response to concerns and debates in post-war French society. schovat popis
The book explores the perspectives of French women writers on the Occupation in post-'68 France, focusing on two groups: 'The Women Resisters,' who fought during the war, and 'The Daughters of the Occupation,' born during or after that time. It argues that the older generation's emerging understanding of gender's role in political activism is transformed into explicit feminist narratives by younger female authors, highlighting the evolution of women's voices and experiences in the context of wartime France.