Philip Thody

Howard Read

Jean-Paul Sartre was once described as being the most famous Frenchman of the twentieth century, after President Charles de Gaulle! Certainly from 1945 until his death in 1980, Sartre was the most famous and prolific writer in France, and one of the best known philosophers of his day.

Introducing Sartre

ALBERT CAMUS LYRICAL AND CRITICAL ESSAYS

INTRODUCING guide to the father of existentialism and one of 20th century philosophy's most famous characters. Jean-Paul Sartre was once described as being, next to Charles de Gaulle, the most famous Frenchman of the 20th century. Between the ending of the Second World War in 1945 and his death in 1980, Sartre was certainly the most famous French writer, as well as one of the best-known living philosophers. Introducing Sartre explains the basic ideas inspiring his world view, and pays particular attention to his idea of freedom. It also places his thinking on literature in the context of the 20th century debate on its nature and function. It examines his ideas on Marxism, his enthusiasm for the student rebellion of 1968, and his support for movements of national liberation in the Third World. The book also provides a succinct account of his life, and especially of the impact which his unusual childhood had on his attitude towards French society.

A Graphic Guide

Albert Camus, 1913-1960

1913-1960

Albert Camus

A Study of His Work

Laclos: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by Philip Thody

The starting point of A la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past) is an experience everyone has had. We have all had a physical sensation that has reminded us so vividly of a moment in our past that we have almost ceased to be aware of the present. Marcel Proust immortalized this in the first volume of his fifteen-volume novel, in 1913. But the novel, completed just before his death in 1922, deals with many other themes. It is an account of how the narrator, Marcel, discovers his vocation as an artist and explores the nature of art. As a psychological novel, it studies jealousy and how the emotional traumas we undergo in childhood can influence our adult lives. It is the first major novel to offer a detailed account of male and female homosexuality. It is a satirical analysis of French upper-class society at the turn of the century. It also shows how this society changes with time. Philip Thody offers a straightforward analysis of how Proust's novel is constructed, what it contains, and how its themes can be related to our experiences as members of American or English society in the late twentieth century. He explains one of the most complex prose narratives in terms that both educate and entertain the reader who may be unfamiliar with Proust and his work. '...(Thody) writes in a most engagingly down-to-earth manner, conveying a real sense of enthusiasm, and positively luring the reader towards his potentially daunting subject ... Professor Thody's contribution holds its own with ease.' - Modern and Contemporary France.

Marcel Proust

This selection from his essays. Lyrical and Critical, and from his private notebooks aims to present Camus as a writer and literary critic, as well as Camus the individual.

Selected Essays and Notebooks

Jean Genet. A Study of His Novels and Plays

Jean Genet

A chronological political history of European integration from the 1950s to the present. This accessible book incorporates the most recent research and detailed treatment of the policies of the European Union.

An Historical Introduction to the European Union

A study of the attempt by French politicians to use the law to forbid the use of words in English and American origin. Classifies some of these words and lists expressions in current use in American and England which are particularly difficult to render in French, comparing these with some equally untranslatable French turns of speech.

Forbidden English, Forbidden American: Law, Politics and Language in Contemporary France: A Study in

Le Franglais

A philosophical and literary study of the French author's writing during the past twenty years.

Philip Thody

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