Three twentieth-century novelists of rural life

The rural novel has been the subject of surprisingly few comparative studies. Three authors have been chosen who, although representative, have not yet been adequately examined. Griese, famous in the 'Blood and Soil' era, remained active on the German literary scene into the 1970s; the nationalism of Ó Conaire's early works gives way to a void in the face of Irish independence; and, despite its claims of universality, Genevoix's writing is shown to remain firmly entrenched in a nationalist France. These phenomena are detailed, discussed, and compared with previous research findings on the rural novel.