On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, an armistice went into effect between Germany and the Allied nations, a day that was regarded as the end of the war to end all wars. President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11, 1919, as the first commemoration of Armistice Day, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
In Great Britain and Canada, November 11 is known as Remembrance Day. Poppies are the best known symbol of Remembrance Day and were adopted as a symbol of remembrance from the poem "In Flanders Fields", penned by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in May 1915 after he lost a friend in the Battle of Ypres. Beautiful bright red Flanders poppies flourished across the scarred battlefields of muck and destruction during the war and after.
Want to learn more? Check out some of our books and DVDs.
Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War
The First World War; The War to End All Wars
The First World War in 100 Objects
The Great War: A Photographic Narrative
Looking for World War I fiction? We've got you covered with a mix of classic and contemporary novels that focus on both the war and the homefront experiences.
The classic novel of WWI. From the perspective of a young disillusioned German soldier. Compulsively readable and raw, Erich Remarque himself was badly wounded during WWI. During the rise of Nazism, Remarque's work was branded as unpatriotic and he fled to Switzerland 1931. In 1933, the Nazis banned two of his novels and held a bonfire to burn his books.
A novel about the Battle of the Somme, one of the most devastating battles in history, and how the lives of four men change.
A dual narrative novel, set in WWI and WWII, about the consequences and triumphs of love during war. Gorgeously written.
Inspired by the author's own family history, "The Sojourn" follows "a time when Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, and Germans fought on the same side while divided by language, ethnicity, and social class in the most brutal war to date." (Amazon)
A collection of WWI short stories from popular authors Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Jennifer Robson.
An American ambulance driver falls for a beautiful English nurse. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's own experiences during WWI, "A Farewell to Arms" is the classic American novel of WWI.
Love the second season of "Downton Abbey"? Try this, a novel about an aristocratic young lady who defies her parents to drive an ambulance but falls for a handsome Scottish surgeon.
Five Gold Star Mothers, American women whose sons were killed during WWI, travel to France to see their sons' final resting places and shocking events take place.
Popular author Jojo Moyes ("Me Before You") novel about a wife left behind as her husband fights and the sacrifices she must make to keep her family safe as the Germans march in.
A novel about a soldier and his childhood sweetheart and an officer and his artistocratic wife and how their lives change during WWI. Read by Dan Stevens of "Downton Abbey" fame.
After his brother-in-law goes missing, pacifist Angus joins the war after being told he'll be sent to London, but is instead sent right into battle.
Famed courtesan and spy (or was she?) Mata Hari's voice is revealed in this novel by celebrated author Paulo Coehlo.
