A Separate Peace John Knowles Dell, 4th Printing, 1963 Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world. A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles's crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic. Pages in unread, unmarked condition. Cover has some small chipping at edges. Small crease on back cover near top of spine. Some blemishes on bottom outside edge of pages, does not affect inside of pages.