6 h 31 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 31 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does war look like when the soldier watching it has a poet’s eye?
In Readings for a Shadow, Jean Giraudoux brings you close to the First World War through one soldier’s personal witness. A French writer and diplomat, he serves at the front and suffers wounds in 1914 and 1915. His focus is not a plan of battles, but the texture of soldiers’ daily experience.
These lyrical dispatches explore the war’s first phase, as swift movement gives way to long trench lines across northern France. Giraudoux turns what he observes into images and short, close scenes. The stakes remain personal: how does war feel from inside one person’s days, beyond the broad outlines of official history?
What you’ll discover
- A soldier’s close view Meet the front through personal observation rather than a distant account of battles.
- War through a poet’s eyes Discover how lyrical prose turns soldiers’ daily experience into images and small scenes.
- The early war years Follow a witness to the period when moving armies give way to trench lines.
- A writer in uniform Encounter Giraudoux as a man of letters whose military service shapes his witness.
- Light, quick prose Enjoy a style that prizes clear observation and keeps its attention close to experience.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love vivid detail, French literature and the voice of a poet at war. It will please anyone curious about 1914 and eager to see soldiers through one tender, humorous eye.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Peace supplies the habits of war
- The first battle mixes laughter and dread
- Alsace does not recognize its visitors
- One quiet evening protects an earlier self
- Thann offers welcome without asking anything
- Peace cannot leave the dead behind
- Refugees carry their lives onto roads
- Shared ground brings friendship beside cruelty
- The dead remain people with faces
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Readings for a Shadow in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Readings for a Shadow
by Jean Giraudoux · 1917
A sergeant marches into Alsace in August 1914 and finds a war of telephone numbers, geraniums and carrots.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What does a war look like to a sergeant who has not yet seen a German? In August 1914 a regiment of reservists marches into Alsace and finds telephone wires, convent gardens, geraniums and a barber who watches them shave.
Readings for a Shadow at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 55 min3 h 5 min fast, 4 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 55,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1917by Jean Giraudoux
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The war begins as a rehearsal of peace
The book opens in Alsace in mid August 1914. A regiment of reservists sleeps in hay, in a convent and in a school, and spends whole days in reserve. Giraudoux tells it as a diary of small hours, measured by meals and footsteps.
Everything around the men is borrowed from peace. The supply buses still carry the tourist names of Chamonix and Grenoble. Soldiers on the road shout out the Paris telephone numbers of friends and sweethearts. The men feel sure that only the dunces are exposed to death, while the clever seem safe. The author tells us how wrong they are.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1917
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Giraudoux, Jean. Readings for a Shadow. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/readings-for-a-shadow.
Giraudoux, J. (2026). Readings for a shadow. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/readings-for-a-shadow (Original work published 1917)
Giraudoux, Jean. Readings for a Shadow. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/readings-for-a-shadow.
@book{giraudoux2026readings,
author = {Giraudoux, Jean},
title = {Readings for a Shadow},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/readings-for-a-shadow},
note = {First published 1917}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Readings for a Shadow
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Readings for a Shadow about?
It is a set of five prose pieces by Jean Giraudoux on the First World War, covering the march into Alsace in 1914, the road to the Marne, the Dardanelles in 1915 and a day in Lisbon in 1916.
Who is the shadow in Readings for a Shadow?
The book is dedicated to André du Fresnois, a friend who is missing. The title suggests readings offered to an absent person, and the many fallen friends in the pages become a kind of chorus for him.
Is Readings for a Shadow a true story?
It is based on the author's own service as a sergeant and interpreter in 1914 and later missions. The names and scenes come from his experience, though he shapes them in a lyrical, sometimes comic style. It appeared in 1917.
The author
Jean Giraudoux
1882–1944 · French novelist and playwright
Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, playwright and diplomat. He was born in Bellac, France, in 1882 and died in Paris in 1944. He worked in the French diplomatic service. His works include the novel Suzanne et le Pacifique (1921) and the plays Amphitryon 38 (1929) and Ondine (1939).
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
