With the exception of, perhaps, “LeFeu” by Henri Barbusse, no bookmade such a stir in the France of1914-1918 as Georges Duhamel’s[1] “Civilisation.”Its success was as immediate asits appeal was universal. Like “Le Feu,”it was awarded the Prix Goncourt, and ranto an enormous circulation.

There is no doubt, too, that posteritywill acclaim it as a remarkable work. For itis something more than a human documentof the war. One feels in the poignantexperiences of the few French soldiers, depictedby M. Duhamel, the tragic fate oftwentieth-century man—the Machine Ageman—in the grip of the scientific monsterhe has created for himself. These intimate[Pg 2]pictures have the cumulative effect of anepic in which the experiment of humanityis menaced by man’s own inventiveness andheroism.

This impression is the creation of theparticular style of M. Duhamel. It is notby the vigorous simplicity of a Guy deMaupassant that he achieves his effects, norby the exact observation which one mightexpect of him as a doctor of medicine. Hisstrength lies in the violent imagery withwhich he intensifies his descriptions, givingthe impression of life and feeling to inanimateobjects. He thus often produces the effectof a monstrous dream or nightmare.

Emile Zola was a past master of thismethod; but, in his case, too often, thesubject did not lend itself to such treatment.M. Duhamel does not lay himself open tothis objection. No style could be moreappropriate than his for expressing the coldprecision of the machinery by means ofwhich this so effectively organised war hasruined our world.

Like Emile Zola, M. Duhamel does[Pg 3]not shirk any detail however unpleasant.Differences in language and point of viewmake it impossible to reproduce all of these.But with the exception of “Les Amours dePonceau” all the tales comprising “Civilisation”are included in the translation.

I am much indebted to Miss Eva Gore-Boothfor kindly reading the proofs.

T. P. C.-E.

London, October 1919.