McCready Publishes New Book - Commemorative Acts: French Theatre and the Memory of the Great War

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Posted on January 5, 2026 by Susan McCready

Susan McCready

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Susan McCready’s third monograph draws on memory studies and theatrical history, to analyze a neglected body of plays staged in France after the Great War, between 1918 and 1937, to reveal their profound impact on collective memory and cultural identity. Published in November by the University of Toronto Press, the book uncovers how the dominance of first-person accounts of soldiers’ experiences has subtly, yet powerfully, narrowed our understanding of what the memory of the Great War can encompass. It explores how drama, structurally at odds with the first-person perspective and defined by its simultaneous modes of expression and reception, has been lost to collective memory. By examining the unique capacity of the dramatic form to capture war trauma, Commemorative Acts offers insights that differ from those of other literary genres, highlighting the theatre’s potential to provide a more expansive and nuanced
understanding of interwar memorial culture.

McCready was featured on the New Books Network podcast hosted by Gina Stamm. Their discussion is here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/commemorative-acts

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