Samuel Beckett and the Second World War : politics propaganda and a Universe Become Provisional Series Editor Preface Introduction Chapter One Beckett and the Second World War Chapter Two Beckett War and the Everyday Chapter Three Revolution and Revulsion: Beckett and Vichy France Chapter Four Beckett and Irish Neutrality Chapter Five The Language of Recovery: Beckett and France after the Liberation Chapter Six Beckett and War Writing Epilogue Bibliography Index In the wake of the Second World War Samuel Beckett wrote some of the most important literary works of the 20th century. This is the first in depth historical study to examine the far reaching impact of the war on Becketts writing. The book explores a range of Becketts texts from his plays and fiction to criticism and poetry and draws on a substantial body of archival and historical sources from the diaries describing Becketts experiences in Nazi Germany before the war to accounts of his resistance work in occupied France his involvement with the Irish Red Cross and his attitudes to Irish neutrality. Along the way Samuel Beckett and the Second World War casts new light on Becketts political commitments and his concepts of history as they were formed during Europes darkest hour