''Siegfried et le Limousin'' is a novel by

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work ...

published in 1922 by Grasset. This novel is famous for having brought success to its author. In the story, Giraudoux explores the hostility between two warring countries, France and Germany, which underlies the tale of a man who has lost his memory. Giraudoux went on to adapt the story as the successful drama ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' in 1928.

Summary

The novel begins in January 1922. The narrator suspects, through stylistic hints in a German newspaper, that a famous German jurist, Siegfried von Kleist, might be one of his friends–a French soldier and writer, Jacques Forestier. However, Forestier had been reported missing during the Great War–the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. A wound suffered in that war indeed caused Forestier to become an amnesiac, who then continued his life in Germany under a completely different name, unaware of his former identity. The narrator goes to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, where he hopes to identify Forestier with the help of Baron von Zelten, a German diplomat serving in Paris. In the course of being reunited with his former lover, Genevieve, he recovers his memory. In the end, Siegfried returns to

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

, his former home in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, to resume his old life.Guilt and the War Within: The Theater of Jean-Paul Sartre and Jean Giraudoux By Mary Ann LaMarca, Duke University 2008
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References

{{reflist Novels by Jean Giraudoux 1922 French novels French novels adapted into plays Éditions Grasset books