Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
Encyclopedia
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia is a travel book
written by Dame Rebecca West
, published in 1941.
The book is of exceptional length (over 1,100 pages in modern editions). It gives an account of Balkan history and ethnography, and the significance of Nazism
, structured about West's six week trip to Yugoslavia
in 1937. West's objective was "to show the past side by side with the present it created". Publication of the book coincided with the Nazi Invasion of Yugoslavia
, and West added a foreword highly praising the Yugoslavs for their brave defiance of Germany. The book's epigraph
reads: "To my friends in Yugoslavia, who are now all dead or enslaved".
It made the Random House
Modern Library
list of the best 100 non-fiction
books of the 20th century.
The writer Larry McMurtry
says in an essay, "...there are only a few great travel books. Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon is one...".
Travel literature
Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...
written by Dame Rebecca West
Rebecca West
Cicely Isabel Fairfield , known by her pen name Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, DBE was an English author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. A prolific, protean author who wrote in many genres, West was committed to feminist and liberal principles and was one of the foremost public...
, published in 1941.
The book is of exceptional length (over 1,100 pages in modern editions). It gives an account of Balkan history and ethnography, and the significance of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, structured about West's six week trip to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1937. West's objective was "to show the past side by side with the present it created". Publication of the book coincided with the Nazi Invasion of Yugoslavia
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...
, and West added a foreword highly praising the Yugoslavs for their brave defiance of Germany. The book's epigraph
Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...
reads: "To my friends in Yugoslavia, who are now all dead or enslaved".
It made the Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
Modern Library
Modern Library
The Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer...
list of the best 100 non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
books of the 20th century.
The writer Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
says in an essay, "...there are only a few great travel books. Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon is one...".
Sources
- West, Rebecca, intr. Geoff Dyer, (2006). Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. Edinburgh. ISBN 9781841957876