A series of critical portraits and recollections of early twentieth-century French literary figures, the author selects a limited cohort of younger writers who reject nineteenth-century conventions in favor of movement, musical rhythm, and artistic freedom, arranging them across political tendencies and acknowledging many omissions. The volume mixes preface discussions of aims, brief critical sketches of poets, novelists, and dramatists, and an afterword reflecting on how the war interrupted careers and transformed reputations. It also contrasts creative writing with intellectual criticism, emphasizing changing aesthetic trends and the difficulty of capturing a living, evolving literary generation within a small book.