Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - In introducing M. Barbusse's most important book to a public already familiar with "Under Fire," it seems well to point out the relation of the author's philosophy to his own time, and the kinship of his art to that of certain other contemporary French and English novelists. "L'Enfer" has been more widely read and discussed in France than any other realistic study since the days of Zola. The French sales of the volume, in 1917 alone, exceeded a hundred thousand copies, a popularity all the more remarkable from the fact that its appeal is based as much on its philosophical substance as on the story which it tells.

"Under Fire: The Story of a Squad" (Le Feu) is a story of World War I, translated by Fitzwater Wray.

A novel, translated by Robert Baldick. A young man staying in a Paris boarding house finds a hole in the wall above his bed. Alternately voyeur and seer, he obsessively studies the private moments and secret activities of his neighbors: childbirth, first love, marriage, betrayal, illness and death all present themselves to him through this spy hole. Decades ahead of its time, "Hell" shocked and scandalized the reviewing public when first released in English in 1866. Even so, the New Republic praised "the beauty of the book's nervous yet fluid rhythms... The book sweeps, away life's illusions."

A classic novel of French fighting men during the First World War
Every great event inspires the writers of its time. Among the works they create are novels, some of which have become widely recognised as classics and which are known by almost everyone whether they have read the book or not. Tolstoy's War and Peace is one such, remarkable for its depiction of Russia in the early nineteenth century and the age of Napoleon. Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is another, widely admired for its portrayal of the First World War from the perspective of the German Army. Irrespective of the deserved status of these works, translation to the movie screen assists the phenomenon. Inevitably, there are works less well known to many but which those 'in the know' recognise as literary achievements of equal worth and stature. This book, Under Fire (Le Feu) is such a book. It is a classic novel of the experience of the Great War from the perspective of French soldiers who fought in the trenches. Whilst it is a novel, it derives its remarkable authenticity of atmosphere, detail, characterisation and events from the actual wartime experiences of its author, Henri Barbusse, who served as a soldier on the front line. Indeed, his book, a stark anti-war portrayal of the ordeals of ordinary poilou under fire is dedicated to his fallen comrades from the battles at Crouy and on Hill 119 which took place in 1915. Readers should be prepared for both a portrayal of men at war in the raw and experiences of tragic intensity. This is, of course, an essential work of twentieth century literature and is highly recommended. Available in softcover and hardcover with dustjacket. Leonaur hardcovers are full bound in real cloth with gold foil lettering on their spines and feature fabric head and tail bands.

Under Fire (1916) is a novel by Henri Barbusse. Written from notes taken while Barbusse was serving in the First World War, the novel was quickly recognized as a powerful tale of perseverance and comradery in the face of unspeakable suffering. Intended to promote the cause of pacifism, Under Fire is deeply critical of the rich and powerful men whose inability to live peacefully leads time and again to the sacrifice of countless human lives. "Each country whose frontiers are consumed by carnage is seen tearing from its heart ever more warriors of full blood and force. One's eyes follow the flow of these living tributaries to the River of Death. To north and south and west afar there are battles on every side. Turn where you will, there is war in every corner of that vastness." Even from a distance, war is hell on earth, but it is not something that can be described in the abstract, if it can be described at all. Such a luxury-available only to the leaders who declare war's beginning and end-is not afforded to those are sent to fight. Following a squad of French volunteers on the Western front, Henri Barbusse provides a realistically brutal vision of death and survival that refuses to glorify the loss of a single life. As a soldier-turned-pacifist, Barbusse brings his reader as close as possible to the trenches and fields of battle in order to dispel the myths that continue to justify and obscure the deaths of the poor and powerless. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Henri Barbusse's Under Fire is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

Under Fire (1916) is a novel by Henri Barbusse. Written from notes taken while Barbusse was serving in the First World War, the novel was quickly recognized as a powerful tale of perseverance and comradery in the face of unspeakable suffering. Intended to promote the cause of pacifism, Under Fire is deeply critical of the rich and powerful men whose inability to live peacefully leads time and again to the sacrifice of countless human lives. "Each country whose frontiers are consumed by carnage is seen tearing from its heart ever more warriors of full blood and force. One's eyes follow the flow of these living tributaries to the River of Death. To north and south and west afar there are battles on every side. Turn where you will, there is war in every corner of that vastness." Even from a distance, war is hell on earth, but it is not something that can be described in the abstract, if it can be described at all. Such a luxury-available only to the leaders who declare war's beginning and end-is not afforded to those are sent to fight. Following a squad of French volunteers on the Western front, Henri Barbusse provides a realistically brutal vision of death and survival that refuses to glorify the loss of a single life. As a soldier-turned-pacifist, Barbusse brings his reader as close as possible to the trenches and fields of battle in order to dispel the myths that continue to justify and obscure the deaths of the poor and powerless. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Henri Barbusse's Under Fire is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

Hell (1908) is a novel by Henri Barbusse. Immensely popular upon its publication in France, Hell earned Barbusse a reputation as a leading realist whose existential preoccupations predate the novels and plays of Samuel Beckett, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre by several decades. His portrait of ennui, isolation, and urban life remains both stylistically and thematically fresh over a century after it appeared in print. "A whole world of human beings had passed here like smoke, leaving nothing white but the window. And I? I am a man like every other man, just as that evening was like every other evening." In this claustrophobic, lyric novel, an unnamed narrator moves into a rundown apartment in Paris. There, he grows increasingly isolated from the world outside, turning instead to the lives of his many neighbors. Through the thin walls, which contain a hidden peephole, he listens and watches as strangers conduct the secret dramas of their daily lives. Witnessing acts of adultery, lesbianism, incest, theft, and abuse, he grows increasingly dependent on the adrenaline rush of voyeurism, withdrawing further and further from the life of the bustling city. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Henri Barbusse's Hell is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

Hell (1908) is a novel by Henri Barbusse. Immensely popular upon its publication in France, Hell earned Barbusse a reputation as a leading realist whose existential preoccupations predate the novels and plays of Samuel Beckett, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre by several decades. His portrait of ennui, isolation, and urban life remains both stylistically and thematically fresh over a century after it appeared in print. "A whole world of human beings had passed here like smoke, leaving nothing white but the window. And I? I am a man like every other man, just as that evening was like every other evening." In this claustrophobic, lyric novel, an unnamed narrator moves into a rundown apartment in Paris. There, he grows increasingly isolated from the world outside, turning instead to the lives of his many neighbors. Through the thin walls, which contain a hidden peephole, he listens and watches as strangers conduct the secret dramas of their daily lives. Witnessing acts of adultery, lesbianism, incest, theft, and abuse, he grows increasingly dependent on the adrenaline rush of voyeurism, withdrawing further and further from the life of the bustling city. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Henri Barbusse's Hell is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.