Merchants of Hope - by Maria Bracco & Rosa Maria Bracco (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This study examines fictional recreations of the First World War in the interwar years and the phenomenal success of one play, Sheriff's Journey's End. The author challenges the notion of a 'modern' memory generated by the First World War by arguing that middlebrow texts formulated a set of images and ideas that eclipsed the wartime upheaval and imputed conservative 'meanings' to the collective memory.

From the Back Cover

This study examines fictional recreations of the First World War in the interwar years and the phenomenal success of one play, Sheriff's 'Journey's End'. But not only this play--most of the novels considered here, largely forgotten today, were tremendously popular at their time.

Review Quotes

"She shows an extensive knowledge of novels in her field and discusses intelligently attempts by writers of limited talent to extract some meaning from experiences of previously unequalled horror." --Review of English Studies

"Rosa Bracco's book is an investigation into what a reading of minor British writers of fiction dealing with the First World War can tell us about "the English memory of the Great War". [...] Bracco's book is based on thorough research and offers interesting insights." --AUMLA

"Rosa Maria Bracco has performed a valuable service for those engaged with the literary history of the 1920s and 1930s. (...) She...has porduced an informative and highly readable survey." --The Year's Work in English Studies

"(a) fascinating study...the chapter on R.C.Sheriff's Journey End...is a penetrating and insightful analysis of the ambiguities inherent in this influential play." --Canadian Military History