André Maurois (; born Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog; 26 July 1885 – 9 October 1967) was a French author.

Biography

Maurois was born on 26 July 1885 in

Elbeuf Elbeuf () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial town situated by the banks of the Seine some south of Rouen at the junction of the D7, D321 and the D313 roads. Th ...

and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

,Lycée Pierre Corneille de Rouen - History
/ref> both in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. A member of the Javal family, Maurois was the son of Ernest Herzog, a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

textile manufacturer, and his wife Alice Lévy-Rueff. His family had fled

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 and took refuge in Elbeuf, where they owned a woollen mill. As noted by Maurois, the family brought their entire Alsatian workforce with them to the relocated mill, for which Maurois' grandfather was admitted to the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

for having "saved a French industry". This family background is reflected in Maurois' ''Bernard Quesnay'' - the story of a young World War I veteran with artistic and intellectual inclinations who is drawn, much against his will, to work as a director in his grandfather's textile mills - a character clearly having many autobiographical elements. During World War I he joined the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

and served as an interpreter for Lieutenant Colonel

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

(according to

Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish h ...

in ''Churchill and the Jews'', Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2007) and later a liaison officer with the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. His first novel, ''Les silences du colonel Bramble'', was a witty and socially realistic account of that experience. It was an immediate success in France. It was translated and became popular in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries as ''The Silence of Colonel Bramble''. Many of his other works have also been translated into English, as they often dealt with British people or topics, such as his biographies of

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

, and Shelley. In 1938 Maurois was elected to the prestigious ''

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

''. He was encouraged and assisted in seeking this post by Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

, and he made a point of acknowledging with thanks his debt to Pétain in his 1941 autobiography, ''Call no man happy'' – though by the time of writing their paths had sharply diverged, Pétain having become Head of State of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

. When World War II began, he was appointed the French Official Observer attached to the British General Headquarters. In this capacity he accompanied the British Army to Belgium. He knew personally the main politicians in the French Government, and on 10 June 1940 he was sent on a mission to London. After the Armistice ended that mission, Maurois was demobilised and travelled from England to Canada. He wrote of these experiences in his book, ''Tragedy in France''. Later in World War II he served in the French army and the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. His Maurois

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

became his legal name in 1947. He died in 1967 in Neuilly-sur-Seine after a long career as an author of novels, biographies, histories, children's books and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

stories. He is buried in Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery near Paris.

Family

Family grave. Maurois's first wife was Jeanne-Marie Wanda de Szymkiewicz, a young Polish-Russian aristocrat who had studied at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She had a nervous breakdown in 1918 and in 1924 she died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. After his father died, Maurois stopped working in textiles (in the 1926 novel ''Bernard Quesnay'' he in effect described an alternative life of himself, in which he would have plunged into the life of a textile industrialist and given up everything else). Maurois's second wife was Simone de Caillavet, daughter of playwright

Gaston Arman de Caillavet Gaston Arman de Caillavet (13 March 1869 – 13 January 1915) was a French playwright. Early life Gaston Arman de Caillavet was born on 13 March 1869. He was the son of Albert Arman de Caillavet and Léontine Lippmann. His maternal grandfa ...

and actress Jeanne Pouquet, and granddaughter of

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

's mistress Léontine Arman de Caillavet. After the fall of France in 1940, the couple moved to the United States to help with propaganda work against the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

Jean-Richard Bloch Jean-Richard Bloch (25 May 1884 – 15 March 1947) was a French critic, novelist and playwright. He was a member of the French Communist Party (PCF) and worked with Louis Aragon in the evening daily '' Ce soir''. Early life Bloch was born ...

was his brother-in-law.

Quotations

*"The minds of different generations are as impenetrable one by the other as are the monads of Leibniz." (''Ariel'', 1923.) *"Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold."

Bibliography

Books

*''Les silences du colonel Bramble'', Paris: Grasset, 1918 (includes "Si—", a French translation of

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

's poem "

If— "If—" is a poem by English writer and poet Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), written circa 1895 as a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson. It is a literary example of Victorian-era stoicism. The poem, first published in ''Rewards and Fairies'' (1 ...

"). * ''The Silence of Colonel Bramble'', London: John Lane,

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

, 1919 (English translation of ''The Silence of Colonel Bramble''; text translated from the French by Thurfrida Wake; verse translated by Wilfrid Jackson). *''Ni ange, ni bête'', Paris: Grasset, 1919; English translation: ''Neither Angel, Nor Beast'', Lincoln, Nebraska: Infusionmedia, 2015 (translated by Preston and Sylvie Shires). *''Les Discours du docteur O'Grady'', Paris: Grasset, 1922 ("Le Roman" series); English translation: ''The Silence of Colonel Bramble; and, The Discourses of Doctor O'Grady'', London: Bodley Head, 1965. *''Climats'', Paris: Grasset, 1923; Paris, Société d'édition "Le livre", 1929 (illustrated by

Jean Hugo Jean Hugo (19 November 1894 – 21 June 1984) was a painter, illustrator, theatre designer and author. He was born in Paris and died in his home at the Mas de Fourques, near Lunel, France. Brought up in a lively artistic environment, he began ...

); English translation: ''Whatever Gods May Be'', London: Cassell, 1931 (translated by Joseph Collins). *''Ariel, ou La vie de Shelley'', Paris: Grasset, 1923; English translation: ''Ariel: The Life of Shelley'', New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1924 (translated by Ella D'Arcy). *''Dialogue sur le commandement'', Paris: Grasset, 1924; English translation: ''Captains and Kings'', London, John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1925. *''Lord Byron et le démon de la tendresse'', Paris: A l'enseigne de la Porte Etroite, 1925. *''Mape'', London: John Lane, The Bodley Head Limited, 1926 (translated by Eric Sutton, with 4 woodcuts by Constance Grant); ''Mape: The World of Illusion:

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, Balzac, Mrs. Siddons'', New York: D. Appleton, 1926. *''Bernard Quesnay'', Paris: Gallimard, 1927. *''La vie de Disraëli'', Paris: Gallimard, 1927 ("Vies des hommes illustres" series); English translation: ''Disraeli: A Picture of the Victorian Age'', London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1927 (translated by Hamish Miles). *''Études anglaises:

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

, Walpole, Ruskin et Wilde, La jeune littérature'', Paris: Grasset, 1927. *''Un essai sur Dickens'', Paris: Grasset, 1927 (Les Cahiers Verts n° 3). *''Le chapitre suivant'', Paris: Éditions du Sagittaire, 1927 (Les Cahiers Nouveaux, N° 34); English translation: ''The Next Chapter: The War Against the Moon'', London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., 1928. *''Aspects de la biographie'', Paris: Grasset, 1928; Paris: Au Sens Pareil, 1928; English translation: ''Aspects of Biography'', Cambridge University Press, 1929 (translated by S. C. Roberts). *''Deux fragments d'une histoire universelle: 1992'', Paris: Éditions des Portiques, 1928 ("Le coffret des histoires extraordinaires" series). *''La vie de

Sir Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of what ...

'', Paris: Hachette, 1929: English translation: ''The Life of Sir Alexander Fleming: Discoverer of

Penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

'', New York: E. P. Dutton, 1958 (translated by Gerard Hopkins and with an introduction by Professor Robert Cruickshank). *''

'', Paris: Grasset, 1930; English translation: ''Byron'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1930 (translated by Hamish Miles). *''Patapoufs et Filifers'', Paris: Paul Hartmann, 1930. With 75 drawings by Jean Bruller (Vercors); English translation: '' Fattypuffs and Thinifers'', New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1940 (translated by Rosemary Benet). *'' Lyautey'', Paris: Plon, 1931 ("Choses vues" series); English translation: ''Marshall Lyautey'', London: John Lane: The Bodley Head, 1931 (translated by Hamish Miles). *''Le Peseur d'âmes'', Paris: Gallimard, 1931; English translation: ''The Weigher of Souls'', London, Cassell, 1931 (translated by Hamish Miles). *''Chateaubriand'', Paris: Grasset, 1932; also published under the title of: ''René ou la Vie de Chateaubriand''; English translation (translated by Vera Fraser): ''Chateaubriand'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1938; ''Chateaubriand: Poet, Statesman, Lover'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1938. *''Cercle de famille'', 1932; English translation: ''The Family Circle'', London: Peter Davies, 1932 (translated by Hamish Miles). *''

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

'', London: Peter Davies, 1932 (translated by Hamish Miles). *''Chantiers américains'', 1933, Gallimard, NRF collection, Paris (a collection of articles on America's 'New Deal' projects started under president Franklin Delano Roosevelt) *''Voltaire'', Paris: Gallimard, 1935. *''Histoire d'Angleterre'', Paris: A. Fayard et Cie, 1937 ("Les grandes études historiques" series); English translation: ''A History of England'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1937. *''Un art de vivre'', Paris: Plon, 1939 ("Présences" series); English translation: ''The Art of Living'', London: English Universities Press, 1940 (translated by James Whitall). *''Lélia, ou la vie de

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...

'', Paris: Hachette, 1952; English translation: ''Lelia: The Life of George Sand'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1952 (translated by Gerard Hopkins). *''Destins exemplaires'' (Paris: Plon, 1952); English translation: ''Profiles of Great Men'', Ipswich, Suffolk: Tower Bridge Publications, 1954 (translated by Helen Temple Patterson). *''Édouard VII et son temps'', Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1933; English translation: ''The Edwardian Era'', New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1933. *''Kipling and His Works from a French Point of View'' (The Kipling Society, 1934; republished in "

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

: The Critical Heritage", ed. RL Green, 1971 & 1997). *''Ricochets: Miniature Tales of Human Life'', London: Cassell, 1934 (translated from the French by Hamish Miles); New York: Harper and Brothers, 1937. *''Prophets and Poets'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1935 (translated by Hamish Miles). Chapters on

, Shaw,

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

, Chesterton,

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

, Conrad,

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...

, and

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

. *''La machine à lire les pensées: Récit'', Paris: Gallimard, 1937; English translation: ''The Thought Reading Machine'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1938; New York: Harper & Bros, 1938 (translated by James Whitall). *''The Miracle of England: An Account of Her Rise to Pre-Eminence and Present Position'', New York: Harper and Brothers, 1937. *''Les origines de la guerre de 1939'', Paris: Gallimard, 1939. *''Tragedy in France: An Eyewitness Account'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1940 (translated by Denver Lindley). *''Why France Fell'', London: John Lane / The Bodley Head, 1941 (translated by Denver Lindley). *''I Remember, I Remember'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1942. *''Call No Man Happy: Autobiography'', London, Jonathan Cape in association with The Book Society, 1943 (translated by Denver and Jane Lindley); The Reprint Society, 1944. *''The Miracle of America'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944. *''Woman Without Love''. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944. *''From My Journal: The Record of a Year of Adjustment for an Individual and for the World'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1947 (translated by Joan Charles). * "Histoire de la France", Paris: Dominique Wapler, 1947. *'' Alain'', Paris: Domat, 1949 ("Au voilier" series). *''À la recherche de Marcel Proust'', Paris: Hachette, 1949; English translation: ''Proust: Portrait of a Genius'', New York, Harper, 1950 (translated by Gerard Hopkins); ''Proust: a Biography'', Meridian Books, 1958. *''My American Journal'', London: The Falcon Press, 1950. *''Lettres à l'inconnue'', Paris: La Jeune Parque, 1953; English translation: ''To an Unknown Lady'', New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1957. *'' Cecil Rhodes'', London: Collins, 1953 ("Brief Lives", no. 8). *''Olympio ou la vie de

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

'', Paris: Hachette, 1954; English translation: ''Olympio: The Turbulent Life of Victor Hugo'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956 (translated by Gerard Hopkins). *''Lecture, mon doux plaisir'', Paris: Arthème Fayard, 1957 ("Les Quarante" series); English translation: ''The Art of Writing'', London: The Bodley Head, 1960 (translated by Gerard Hopkins). *''Les Titans ou Les Trois Dumas'', Paris: Hachette, 1957: English translation: ''Titans: A Three-Generation Biography of the Dumas'', New York: Harper, 1957 (translated by Gerard Hopkins). *''The World of Marcel Proust'', New York: Harper & Row, 1960 (translated by

Moura Budberg Maria Ignatievna von Budberg-Bönninghausen (russian: Мария (Мура) Игнатьевна Закревская-Бенкендорф-Будберг, ''Maria (Moura) Ignatievna Zakrevskaya-Benckendorff-Budberg'', née Zakrevskaya; February ...

) *''Adrienne, ou, La vie de Mme de La Fayette'', Paris: Hachette, 1960. * ''Prométhée ou la Vie de Balzac'', Paris: Hachette, 1965; English translation: ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...

: The Life of Balzac'', London, The Bodley Head, 1965 (translated by Norman Denny); New York: Harper and Row, 1965. * ''Points of View from

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

'', New York: Frederick Ungar, 1968; London: Frederick Muller, 1969. *''Memoirs 1885–1967'', New York: Harper & Row, 1970 (A Cass Canfield Book) (translated by Denver Lindley); London: The Bodley Head Ltd, 1970.

Short stories

Short stories by Maurois as collected in ''The Collected Stories of André Maurois'', New York: Washington Square Press, 1967 (translated by Adrienne Foulke): ::An Imaginary Interview ::Reality Transposed ::Darling, Good Evening! ::Lord of the Shadows ::Ariane, My Sister... ::Home Port ::Myrrhine ::Biography ::Thanatos Palace Hotel (adapted as an episode of ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was re ...

'') ::Friends ::Dinner Under the Chestnut Trees ::Bodies and Souls ::The Curse of Gold ::For Piano Alone ::The Departure ::The Fault of M. Balzac ::Love in Exile ::Wednesday's Violets ::A Career ::Ten Year Later ::Tidal Wave ::Transference ::Flowers in Season ::The Will ::The Campaign ::The Life of Man ::The Corinthian Porch ::The Cathedral ::The Ants ::The Postcard ::Poor Maman ::The Green Belt ::The Neuilly Fair ::The Birth of a Master ::Black Masks ::Irène ::The Letters ::The Cuckoo ::The House (adapted as an episode of ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, ''The Twilight Zone ...

'')

References

External links

Maurois biography and works
at FantasticFiction.co.uk *

*

Electronic editions

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurois, Andre 19th-century French Jews Alsatian Jews 1885 births 1967 deaths People from Elbeuf Members of the Académie Française 20th-century French novelists French biographers French memoirists French science fiction writers French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni French male novelists 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers Burials at Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery 20th-century memoirists