For over half a century, Robert Gibson has published extensively on Alan-Fournier's life and work. His previous book on Fournier, The Land Without a Name, was widely praised. Gibson now provides a re-appraisal of Fournier's complex love-life, his undervalued career as a journalist, a re-examination of the long and complicated genesis of Le Grand Meaulnes, and an authoritative overview of the remarkable range of critical interpretations to which his haunting masterpiece has been subject. The result is a compelling piece of literary detective-work and a human story sensitively and movingly told. Lavishly illustrated, this is a book which will appeal both to the serious scholar and the general reader.