Peace Breaks Out is a novel by American author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 John Knowles

John Knowles

John Knowles was an American novelist best known for his novel A Separate Peace. He died in 2001 at the age of seventy-five.-Early life:...

, better known for A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace is a novel by John Knowles. Based on his earlier short story "Phineas", it was Knowles' first published novel and became his best-known work.-Plot summary:...

(1959). The books share the setting of the Devon preparatory school

The Devon School

The Devon School is a fictional school created by author John Knowles in the novels A Separate Peace and Peace Breaks Out. It is based on Knowles' alma mater, Phillips Exeter Academy. Like Phillips Exeter during World War II, Devon is a boys' boarding school in New Hampshire...

, probably a reference to Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...

 in Exeter, New Hampshire

Exeter, New Hampshire

Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...

, which Knowles attended in his youth.

Plot introduction

This book follows the story of Pete Hallam as he returns to the school and becomes a history teacher as well as a coach. It is a story of the aftermath of World War II and the loss of innocence of young men.
It starts by Pete Hallam returning to the school he graduated from, war-torn and emotionally scarred. He now is a teacher at Devon School and detects a subtle but deep hate between two members of the class in the first session alone.