Thomas Keneally’s convincing fictional account of the peace negotiations that took place in the Forest of Compiègne at the end of World War One.

The unimaginable slaughter of The Great War has continued unabated since August 1914, and now, at an obscure railway siding in France in the late autumn of 1918, a group of intractable old men gather to negotiate an armistice. As the Allied leaders press for total submission, Germany’s Erzberger, haunted by the prospect of famine and revolution in the gathering winter, angles for better terms. And so they talk on and on, as the guns roar and men continue to die.

Shortlisted
The Booker Prize 1975
Published by
Collins
Publication date
Thomas Keneally

Thomas Keneally

About the Author

Thomas Keneally was born in Sydney, Australia, where he still lives. He began his writing career in 1964 and has published 33 novels since.
More about Thomas Keneally

Other nominated books by Thomas Keneally

Schindlers_Ark
Prize winner
Confederates
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith