{"title":"Books by Eric Vuillard","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781035003976","title":"An Honourable Exit","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the International Booker Prize shortlisted author of \u003ci\u003eThe Order of the Day \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe War of the Poor \u003c\/i\u003ecomes a searing account of a conflict that dealt a fatal blow to French colonialism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Excoriating and profound . . . A remarkable work'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eScotsman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Absolutely spectacular' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e- France Info\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e19 October 1950. The war is not going to plan. In Paris, politicians gather to discuss what to do about Indochina. The conflict is unpopular back home in France: too expensive, and too far away for the public to care. Withdrawal is not an option – a global power cannot surrender to an army of peasants – but victory is impossible without more soldiers and more money. The soldiers can be sourced from the colonies, but the money is out of the question. A solution needs to be found.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this gripping and shocking novel, Éric Vuillard exposes the tangled web of politicians, bankers and titans of industry who all had a vested interest in France’s prolonged presence in lands far from Paris. Skilfully skewering the guilty, Vuillard shows us how key players in conflicts throughout history often have a motivation even deeper and darker than nationalism and political ideology – greed. As well as bringing scenes from the battlefields to life, Vuillard looks beyond this visceral reality on the ground to the cold calculations of the boardroom elite with the power to turn a military win or loss into their financial gain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eShort, sharp and brutal, \u003ci\u003eAn Honourable Exit\u003c\/i\u003e by Éric Vuillard is a journey behind closed doors to witness how history is really made.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685920088437,"sku":"9781035004003","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":43128844452018,"sku":"9781035003976","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781035004003.jpg?v=1792599161"},{"product_id":"9781529038552","title":"The War of the Poor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eInternational Booker Prize 2021\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A dazzling piece of historical re-imagining and a revolutionary sermon, a furious denunciation of inequality' - The judges of the International Booker prize.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe fight for equality begins in the streets.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the internationally bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Order of the Day\u003c\/i\u003e: Éric Vuillard once again takes us behind the scenes at a moment when history was being written.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe history of inequality is a long and terrible one. And it’s not over yet. Short, sharp and devastating, \u003ci\u003eThe War of the Poor\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a brutal episode from history, not as well known as tales of other popular uprisings, but one that deserves to be told.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSixteenth-century Europe: the Protestant Reformation takes on the powerful and the privileged. Peasants, the poor living in towns, who are still being promised that equality will be granted to them in heaven, begin to ask themselves: and why not equality now, here on earth?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere follows a violent struggle. Out of this chaos steps Thomas Müntzer: a complex and controversial figure, who sided with neither Martin Luther, nor the Roman Catholic Church. Müntzer addressed the poor directly, encouraging them to ask why a God who apparently loved the poor seemed to be on the side of the rich.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eÉric Vuillard tells the story of one man whose terrible and novelesque life casts light on the times in which he lived – a moment when Europe was in flux. As in his blistering look at the build-up to World War II, \u003ci\u003eThe Order of the Day\u003c\/i\u003e, Vuillard 'leaves nothing sleeping in the shadows' (\u003ci\u003eL'OBS\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204647452850,"sku":"9781529038552","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529038552_c06ed032-1b38-4bb3-b646-ad4907d7a896.jpg?v=1786022583"},{"product_id":"9781509889976","title":"The Order of the Day","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A thoroughly gripping and mesmerising work of black comedy and political disaster' - \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the 2017 Prix Goncourt\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eÉric Vuillard’s gripping novel \u003ci\u003eThe Order of the Day\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the pivotal meetings which took place between the European powers in the run-up to World War Two. What emerges is a fascinating and incredibly moving account of failed diplomacy, broken relationships, and the catastrophic momentum which led to conflict.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe titans of German industry – set to prosper under the Nazi government – gather to lend their support to Adolf Hitler. The Austrian Chancellor realizes too late that he has wandered into a trap, as Hitler delivers the ultimatum that will lay the groundwork for Germany’s annexation of Austria. Winston Churchill joins Neville Chamberlain for a farewell luncheon held in honour of Joachim von Ribbentrop: German Ambassador to England, soon to be Foreign Minister in the Nazi government, and future defendant at the Nuremberg trials.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuffused with dramatic tension, this unforgettable novel tells the tragic story of how the actions of a few powerful men brought the world to the brink of war.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301511049589,"sku":"9781509889976","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781509889976_9c99129e-0d0e-4184-b40d-e8d421b5035f.jpg?v=1786021703"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-eric-vuillard.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}