Samuel Beckett and the Second World War

William Davies is a research fellow at the University of Reading. With Helen Bailey, he is the editor of Beckett and Politics (2020). He is an English editor of LONGITUDINES magazine.

• Series Editor PrefaceIntroduction Chapter One – Beckett and the Second World WarChapter Two – Beckett, War and the EverydayChapter Three – Revolution and Revulsion: Beckett and Vichy FranceChapter Four – Beckett and Irish NeutralityChapter Five – The Language of Recovery: Beckett and France after the LiberationChapter Six – Beckett and War WritingEpilogueBibliographyIndex

[Beckett's] life between 1939 and 1945–6 has been well-documented ... but William Davies adds much detail, and his book is certain to become the standard work on the subject. But he has done far more than provide new information: he adds fresh strands to the narrative. His book explores, for instance, the issue of Vichy’s Révolution nationale and Beckett’s sarcastic depiction of the Pétain paradox as a ‘poor old misled man and hero of Verdun’ (p. 78). This is followed by a brilliant exposé of Beckett’s relationship to Irish neutrality and a fine analysis of his greatest poem ‘Saint-Lô’ (1946).