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Based on personal experience survivor testimony and documentary research Invasion 14 portrays the German occupation of northern France during World War I. Regarded by critics as Maxence Van der Meerschs nest work the novel is set in Lille Roubaix and nearby villages along the Belgian border with the front lines just miles away and the shelling routinely audible. An antiwar novel that goes beyond the trenches this book is not about combat but its consequences providing remarkable insights on how French civilians chose to accept or oppose the occupation of their country. A gripping epic that weaves together a vast range of characters Invasion 14 provides a sweeping account of life under German rule and explores collaboration resistance and the grey areas between these stark choices foreshadowing dilemmas the entire French nation would later face during World War II. Though originally pub- lished to great renown in 1935 and considerable regional controversy Invasion 14 was neglected after World War II when national discourse focused almost solely on heroes of anti-Nazi resistance movements. As more nuanced under- standings of war and occupation have evolved Van der Meerschs masterful rendition of life along the Western Front has enjoyed a well- deserved renaissance. Presenting a new translation along with an introduction and explanatory notes W. Brian Newsome captures the moving imagery of Van der Meerschs narrative situates Invasion 14 in the context of the authors life experience ad- dresses issues of postwar remembrance and positions the novel amidst literary movements of the time. Maxence Van der Meersch 19071951 was a French writer of Flemish ancestry originally trained as a lawyer. Invasion 14 was runner-up for the Prix Goncourt in 1935 and his novel LEmpreinte du dieu won the award in 1936. W. Brian Newsome is associate professor of his- tory and assistant dean at Elizabethtown College. 9 M Q U P S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S May 2016 978-0-7735-4754-4 34.95T 29.95T 20.99 paper 6 x 9 512pp Ebook available From the book The Germans had been ring on Lille for three straight days. Each evening the ames of the inferno could be seen from Roubaix. Samuel Fontcroix like many others rushed to the outskirts at nightfall to watch this dancing bloody line at the edge of the hori- zon silhouetted against the black chasm of the sky. This hell seemed all too near. Huge red ames spurted into the air like the prod- uct of some distant ironworks and in the noise of the crashing metal one could almost hear a desperate cry. F I C T I O N Invasion 14 maxence van der meersch Translated by W. Brian Newsome An epic novel recounting the experiences of people living under the German occupation of northern France during World War I.