The Downfall

This epic novel portrays war from the viewpoint of soldiers and civilians on the losing side. France's disastrous war against Prussia in 1870 is the restless background for this story of personal ambitions, loves, and jealousies. The national struggle to resist superior military force ends in crushing defeat and humiliating surrender, while men who once fought together are driven apart by blame and recriminations for the defeat, and the women they love suffer as much from revolt and suppression at home as they did from invasion. "War is hell" has never been so clearly illustrated as in this story of wisdom come too late.