Social Darwinism in the French Ideological Novel

Louise Lyle examines French ideological novels to trace the development and motivation of French hostility towards social Darwinism during the fin de siècle, analyzing works by Emile Zola, Maurice Barrès, Paul Bourget, Octave Mirbeau, Colette Yver, Marcel Prévost, Gustave Le Rouge, le Capitaine Danrit, and J.-H. Rosny. She also investigates the legacy of social Darwinism in post-World War II writers Vercors and Romain Gary and contemporary fiction by Michel Houellebecq and Maurice Dantec.

Format: Hardback
Length: 190 pages
Publication date: 01 January 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Louise Lyle's book, "Examining French Ideological Novels," explores the development and motivation of French hostility towards social Darwinism during the fin de siècle. She argues that the antagonism of authors from diverse literary schools was a consequence of and a response to historically specific insecurities relative to the state of the French nation. Lyle analyzes works by Emile Zola, Maurice Barrès, Paul Bourget, Octave Mirbeau, Colette Yver, Marcel Prévost, Gustave Le Rouge, le Capitaine Danrit, and J.-H. Rosny. She also investigates the legacy of the incorporation of social Darwinism by these authors in the work of post-World War II writers Vercors and Romain Gary and in contemporary fiction by Michel Houellebecq and Maurice Dantec. Lyle's study is grounded in the cultural history of biology, particularly in France, and is an important contribution to literature and the history of science.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781409420804