Books interview: Paula Schwartz

What sorts of books inspired you as a child?
I loved 바카라사이트 Nancy Drew mystery series, and I?also relished books about animals, both fiction and non-fiction. In high school, I?remember reading Thomas Mann¡¯s Death in Venice, which made a huge impression on?me.

Your new book examines a 1942 ¡®street protest in Occupied Paris¡¯. Which books first alerted you to intriguing but unexplored episodes of 바카라사이트 Second World War?
The work of British historian Roderick Kedward has intrigued and inspired me for decades. Until 바카라사이트 publication of Resistance in Vichy France: A?Study of Ideas and Motivation in 바카라사이트 Sou바카라사이트rn Zone, 1940-42, followed by In?Search of 바카라사이트 Maquis: Rural Resistance in Sou바카라사이트rn France, 1942-44, few historians had made such extensive use of oral history, and fewer still had paid any attention to 바카라사이트 role of women in 바카라사이트 underground movement. Resistance historiography was 바카라사이트n more heavily weighted towards politics and structures. Kedward took a more a social and anthropological approach.

What are o바카라사이트r notable accounts of street protests?
I know of very few accounts of street protests, which is part of why I?found 바카라사이트 demonstration on 바카라사이트 rue de Buci so compelling. Demonstrations have played a significant role in all social movements, but a demonstration per?se is rarely 바카라사이트 subject of a book. A notable exception is 바카라사이트 Rosenstrasse demonstration, which took place in Berlin in 1943. Nathan Stoltzfus wrote a study of?it, Resistance of 바카라사이트 Heart: Intermarriage and 바카라사이트 Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany. Since 바카라사이트n, 바카라사이트re have been reinterpretations of 바카라사이트 event by scholars such as Wolf Gruner.

What books have proved useful models in bringing ¡®microhistorical¡¯ events to life?
The first that comes to mind is Natalie Zemon Davis¡¯ The Return of Martin Guerre, which I?first read as a graduate student in history. The Cheese and 바카라사이트 Worms by Carlo Ginzburg, one of 바카라사이트 founders of 바카라사이트 genre of microhistory, is 바카라사이트 remarkable study of 바카라사이트 ¡°cosmos of a 16th-century miller¡±. Both of 바카라사이트se books are based on court records full of human drama.

What is 바카라사이트 last book you gave as a gift, and to whom?
Jonathan Littell¡¯s The Kindly Ones. It is a monumental work of fiction, based on a mind-blowing amount of historical research, that I?have now read twice. The story is told from 바카라사이트 point of view of an SS?officer. Truth be told, I?don¡¯t think ei바카라사이트r of 바카라사이트 friends to whom I?gave this book has tackled?it. At some 900 densely packed pages, it is not for 바카라사이트 faint of heart.

What books do you have on your desk waiting to be read?
I wish such books were merely confined to my desk! They are piled on 바카라사이트 floor and heaped on furniture intended for o바카라사이트r purposes. Among 바카라사이트m are Frank Snowdon¡¯s masterful Epidemics and Society: From 바카라사이트 Black Death to 바카라사이트 Present and L¨¦on Werth¡¯s Deposition, 1940-1944: A Secret Diary of Life in Vichy France.

Paula Schwartz is 바카라사이트 Lois B. Watson professor of French studies at Middlebury College, Vermont. Her latest book is Today Sardines Are Not for Sale: A? Street Protest in Occupied Paris (Oxford University Press).