
Our Corner of the Somme
Australia at Villers-Bretonneux
Romain Fathi(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 7. February 2019
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-108-47149-7 (ISBN)
Description
By the time of the Armistice, Villers-Bretonneux - once a lively and flourishing French town - had been largely destroyed, and half its population had fled or died. From March to August 1918, Villers-Bretonneux formed part of an active front line, at which Australian troops were heavily involved. As a result, it holds a significant place in Australian history. Villers-Bretonneux has since become an open-air memorial to Australia's participation in the First World War. Successive Australian governments have valourised the Australian engagement, contributing to an evolving Anzac narrative that has become entrenched in Australia's national identity. Our Corner of the Somme provides an eye-opening analysis of the memorialisation of Australia's role on the Western Front and the Anzac mythology that so heavily contributes to Australians' understanding of themselves. In this rigorous and richly detailed study, Romain Fathi challenges accepted historiography by examining the assembly, projection and performance of Australia's national identity in northern France.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 1 Tables, black and white; 4 Maps; 32 Halftones, black and white; 4 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 193 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
590 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-47149-7 (9781108471497)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2019
Cambridge University Press
€52.99
Available for download

E-Book
02/2019
Cambridge University Press
€44.49
Available for download
Person
Romain Fathi, Ph.D., is Lecturer in History at Flinders University of South Australia and a Chercheur associe at the Centre d'Histoire de Sciences Po, Paris. He has taught and researched at Sciences Po in France, Yale in the United States, and the University of Queensland in Australia. His primary research interests focus on the First World War, war commemorations and Australian identity.
Content
Introduction; 1. Villers-Bretonneux. An Australian victory?; 2. 'The turning point of the war': occupying the memory front; 3. A school or nothing; 4. The Australian National Memorial of Villers-Bretonneux: commemorating the nation within an imperial frame; 5. 'Have we forgotten this place?'; 6. 'The meaning of the ANZAC tradition ... must be learned anew'; 7. 'A piece of Australia in France'; 8. 'It was great to see Australia acknowledged in such a great way'; Conclusion.