"Germany is at stake, her Christian civilisation, her reputation, her military honour," he wrote.
Her conviction that civilisation depends on established institutions underlay her long service to PEN, and her interest in international law.
A short, fortysomething lady with a distinctively Greek colouring - both hair and skin in shades of honey - and a healthy sense of humour alongside her passion for her subject, the Minoan civilisation, which predates ancient Greece.
Given that this is her first journey in the country, her readings of Mesoamerican civilisation and history are unerringly secure.
When civilisation falls, her pampered parents founder.
The Break-Up, starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, takes a similar tack, with Aniston assuming the role of the zombie that must be destroyed if Chicago, civilisation or her boyfriend are to survive.
In a few weeks, before flying back to civilisation in her private plane, Flora drags Starkadder into the modern world (Seth, for example, is dispatched to broody fame in Hollywood).
The trouble is it may turn out to be run by a former minister like Samantha Willis (Nikki Amuka-Bird), a woman apparently intent on rebuilding civilisation in her own image, ie, largely devoid of humour, smart or flexible thinking.
"I would like to thank Janice for her work in developing Civilisations and for her wider contribution to the BBC," said Mark Linsey, acting director of television.
Némirovsky writes: "Christian charity, the compassion of centuries of civilisation, fell from her like useless ornaments, revealing her bare, arid soul.
