Dreyfus: A Family Affair; 1789-1945
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
One of the most explosive political scandals in modern European history — the wrongful conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus — ignited a firestorm of antisemitism, nationalism, and injustice that tore France apart at the close of the nineteenth century, and Dreyfus: A Family Affair, 1789–1945 chronicles not just that infamous trial, but the rich, turbulent history of the family at its centre across more than 150 years. Michael Burns traces the Dreyfus family from the upheavals of the French Revolution through to the horrors of the Second World War, painting a panoramic portrait of Jewish life in France — their assimilation, their patriotism, and ultimately their persecution — with meticulous archival research and a storyteller's gift for human drama. Burns masterfully weaves the personal and the political, illustrating how the fate of one Alsatian Jewish family served as a mirror for France's own fractured soul, its struggles with identity, loyalty, and the seductive dangers of institutional prejudice. The narrative spans generations, uncovering how the tremors of the Dreyfus Affair continued to reverberate through French society, culminating in the Vichy regime's collaboration with Nazi genocide. Rich in detail and unflinching in its moral clarity, this work stands as an essential reckoning with history — leaving the reader to wonder how a nation's ideals and its darkest impulses can so fatally coexist.
Author: Michael Burns
Format: Hardback
Genre: European history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
One of the most explosive political scandals in modern European history — the wrongful conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus — ignited a firestorm of antisemitism, nationalism, and injustice that tore France apart at the close of the nineteenth century, and Dreyfus: A Family Affair, 1789–1945 chronicles not just that infamous trial, but the rich, turbulent history of the family at its centre across more than 150 years. Michael Burns traces the Dreyfus family from the upheavals of the French Revolution through to the horrors of the Second World War, painting a panoramic portrait of Jewish life in France — their assimilation, their patriotism, and ultimately their persecution — with meticulous archival research and a storyteller's gift for human drama. Burns masterfully weaves the personal and the political, illustrating how the fate of one Alsatian Jewish family served as a mirror for France's own fractured soul, its struggles with identity, loyalty, and the seductive dangers of institutional prejudice. The narrative spans generations, uncovering how the tremors of the Dreyfus Affair continued to reverberate through French society, culminating in the Vichy regime's collaboration with Nazi genocide. Rich in detail and unflinching in its moral clarity, this work stands as an essential reckoning with history — leaving the reader to wonder how a nation's ideals and its darkest impulses can so fatally coexist.