Learning the Lessons of History and Literature: The Case of Éric Vuillard’s L’Ordre du jour

Abstract:History has exchanged ideas, themes, techniques and methods with literature throughout its existence, even though the two domains are commonly viewed as entirely distinct, if not incompatible. The debate over the legitimacy and value of literature as opposed to academic history has recently reemerged with the French press’s quasi-unanimous endorsement of Éric Vuillard’s L’Ordre du jour, a bestselling novel focusing on a few select “behind the scenes” aspects of the Anschluss, yet claiming to offer nothing less than the “real truth” of the Nazis’ rise to power. The present article offers a critical analysis of the assumptions and illusions behind the French press’s largely unreflective enthusiasm for Vuillard’s narrative.