Fighting France From Dunkerque to Belport

Name: Fighting France From Dunkerque to Belport
Author: Edith Wharton

The book is a non-fiction work that chronicles the author's experiences and observations during World War I. It is divided into four parts, each focusing on a different aspect of the war effort in France. The first part describes the author's journey from Paris to the front lines, where she witnesses the retreat of French and British forces from Dunkirk. The second part recounts her time in the trenches, where she sees firsthand the harsh conditions faced by soldiers. The third part explores the role of women in the war effort, highlighting their contributions as nurses, ambulance drivers, and volunteers. The final part describes the author's visit to the devastated region of Belport, where she witnesses the destruction caused by the war. Throughout the book, the author conveys her admiration for the bravery and resilience of the French people during this tumultuous period in their history.

By Edith Wharton · First published 1918 · Genre: War Literature, Non-fiction, Travel Literature · 24 chapters · 39,784 words

First lines

On the 30th of July, 1914, motoring north from Poitiers, we had lunched somewhere by the roadside under apple-trees on the edge of a field. Other fields stretched away on our right and left to a border of woodland and a village steeple. All around was noonday quiet, and the sober disciplined landscape which the traveller's memory is apt to evoke as distinctively French. Sometimes, even to accustomed eyes, these ruled-off fields and compact grey villages seem merely flat and tame; at other moments the sensitive imagination sees in every thrifty sod and even furrow the ceaseless vigilant attachment of generations faithful to the soil. The particular bit of landscape before us spoke in all its lines of that attachment. The air seemed full of the long murmur of human effort, the rhythm of oft-repeated tasks, the serenity of the scene smiled away the war rumours which had hung on us since morning.

What this Textopian page supports

Fighting France From Dunkerque to Belport is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Edith Wharton, dated 1918 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Historical account
Author: Edith Wharton
Date: 1918 CE
Language: English
Genres: War Literature, Non-fiction, Travel Literature, Historical Literature, Autobiography
Length: 39,784 words
Structure: 24 chapters, 321 paragraphs
Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for Fighting France From Dunkerque to Belport by Edith Wharton
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering Fighting France From Dunkerque to Belport?
How does this historical account by Edith Wharton fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does War Literature first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

War Literature — The narrative is centered around the experiences and observations during World War I.
Non-fiction — The content is based on real events and people, not fictional characters or scenarios.
Travel Literature — The narrative involves the author's journey and experiences across different locations in France.
Historical Literature — The narrative provides a historical account of events during a specific period in history.