In 1917,Ring Lardnerwas sent on assignment as a war correspondent on the French front for a series of reports forCollier’smagazine. Appearing in serialized format in the magazine before its eventual publication as a book,My Four Weeks in Francerecalls Lardner’s experiences in his new wartime role.
Being a humorist and a satirist, it would have been inconsistent with his typical format to write harrowing stories about the horrors of combat. For this...