An obscure veterans' group during the mid-1930s, the Croix de Feu grew into a nationalist movement with half a million supporters. In Reconciling France against Democracy Sean Kennedy explores how the group, led by Franois de La Rocque, reshaped French politics and helped set the stage for the repressive Vichy regime. Kennedy describes how the Croix de Feu promised to restore patriotic unity to France but instead demonized the organization's enemies as unfit to be French; its successor, the Parti Social Franais, professed a respect for democracy but actually promoted an intensely nationalist...

This volume comprises ten essays challenging the dominant account of Samuel Beckett's engagement with history. As the first full-length volume to address the historical debate in Beckett studies, Samuel Beckett: History, Memory, Archive provides both ground-breaking analysis of the major works as well as a sustained interrogation of the critical assumptions that underpin Beckett studies more generally. Drawing on a range of archival materials, and situating Beckett in historical context, these essays pose a strong challenge to the prevailing critical consensus that he was a deracinated...

Stodgy British archivist Henry Percival-Smythe slaves away in the dusty basement of Ealing College in 1934, the only bright spot in his life his obsession with a strange Australian mammal, the thylacine. It has been hunted to the edge of extinction, and Henry would love nothing more than to help the rare creature survive. Then a human whirlwind spins through his door. Jack "Dingo" Chambers is also on the hunt for the so-called "Tasmanian Tiger," although his reasons are far more altruistic. Banding together, Dingo and the newly nicknamed Dash travel halfwaytd around the globe in their quest...

Beckett and Ireland is a volume of essays devoted exclusively to the topic of Beckett's vexed relationship with his homeland. It provides compelling evidence of the continuing relevance of Ireland to Beckett's writing long after he left for wartime France. Each essay is written by a leading Beckett scholar, and presents insights into a wide range of approaches and topics. The volume offers a fresh perspective, providing a genuine step forward in the understanding and appreciation of these texts. It is essential reading for Beckettians, Modernists, and those interested in Irish writing.