Pierre and Luce focuses on the impact of the First World War on two lovers, Pierre and Luce. The older brother of Pierre is off fighting on the Western Front. The novel also depicts the Paris Gun attack on the St-Gervais-et-St-Protais Church.

Romain Rolland (1866-1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915. Rolland's most famous novel is the 10-volume novel sequence Jean-Christophe. His other novels include Colas Breugnon, Clérambault and Pierre et Luce. Rolland is also noted for his correspondence with and influence on Sigmund Freud.