''Week-end at Zuydcoote'' (; published as ''Weekend at Dunkirk'' in the United States) is a 1949 novel by French author

Robert Merle Robert Merle (; 28 August 1908 – 27 March 2004) was a French novelist. Early life Merle was born in 1908 in Tébessa, French Algeria. His father Félix, who was an interpreter "with a perfect knowledge of literary and spoken Arabic", was kille ...

, published in the

Collection Blanche The Collection Blanche is the great collection of French literature published by the Éditions Gallimard. It appeared in 1911, and at the beginning was nourished by the publications of ''La Nouvelle Revue française'' (''La NRF''), the brand " ...

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

. It won the 1949

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

, France's most prestigious literary prize. It was first published in English in 1950. In 1964 the novel was adapted to a film called ''

Weekend at Dunkirk ''Weekend at Dunkirk'' (french: Week-end à Zuydcoote) is a 1964 war drama film directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. It is based on the 1949 Prix Goncourt winning novel ''Week-end at Zuydcoote'' (French: ''Week-end à Zuyd ...

'' (French: ''Week-end à Zuydcoote''), directed by

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International ...

, starring

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

. The music for the film was composed by

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...

References

1949 French novels Novels set in Dunkirk French novels adapted into films Prix Goncourt winning works Éditions Gallimard books {{1940s-novel-stub