Edmonde Charles-Roux (17 April 1920 – 20 January 2016) was a French writer.

Early life

Charles-Roux was born in 1920 at

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, the daughter of Francois Charles-Roux, the former French ambassador to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, a member of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

and the last chairman of the

Suez Canal Company Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same b ...

. Her paternal grandfather,

Jules Charles-Roux Jules Charles-Roux (14 November 1841 – 6 March 1918) was a French businessman and politician. He served as the vice president of the Suez Canal Company. He served as a corporate director of shipping companies in the Antilles, West Africa and Fr ...

, was a businessman and politician.

World War II

Charles-Roux was a volunteer

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, at first in a

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

unit, the 11th infantry regiment abroad. She was wounded at Verdun while bringing aid to a legionnaire. Then she joined the Resistance, again as a nurse. After the landings in Provence, she was attached to the 5th Armored Division, where she performed as a nurse but also as a divisional social assistant. She also served in the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC) and the Mechanized Regiment of the Foreign Legion (RMLE). Decorated with the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

, she was made Chevalier de la

Legion d'Honneur 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 B ...

in 1945, and received the distinction of Vivandière d'honneur from the RMLE at the hands of

Louis-Antoine Gaultier Louis-Antoine Gaultier (1898–1970) was a général of the French Army who served mainly in the French Foreign Legion. Military career World War I Louis-Antoine prepared the admission entrance of École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr wh ...

, corps commander.

Journalist

In 1946, she joined the staff of a magazine being created, a women's weekly: ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', where she spent two years. From 1948, she worked for the French edition of ''Vogue'', becoming the magazine's editor-in-chief in 1954. Reading ''Vogue'' democratized luxury while giving access to the most innovative artists of the time, whether such writers as Francois-Regis Bastide,

Violette Leduc Violette Leduc (7 April 1907 – 28 May 1972) was a French writer. Early life and education She was born in Arras, Pas de Calais, France, on 7 April 1907. She was the illegitimate daughter of a servant girl, Berthe Leduc, and André Debaralle ...

and Francois Nourissier or photographers such as

Guy Bourdin Guy Bourdin (2 December 1928 – 29 March 1991), was a French artist and fashion photographer known for his provocative images. From 1955, Bourdin worked mostly with ''Vogue'' as well as other publications including '' Harper's Bazaar''. He shot ...

, Henry Clarke or William Klein, or designers

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

, Yves Saint Laurent and

Emanuel Ungaro Emanuel Ungaro (13 February 1933 – 21 December 2019) was a French fashion designer who founded the eponymous fashion house in 1965. Early life Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from Francavilla Fontana of Brindisi province because of the ...

. By combining ready-to-wear and pop art, she connected fashion with any other form of creativity. She left ''Vogue Paris'' in 1966, as the result of a conflict for wanting to place a black woman on the cover of the magazine.Edmonde Charles-Roux
–

Bernard-Henri Lévy Bernard-Henri Lévy (; ; born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the " Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, political acti ...

website

Writer

Three months later, in 1966, she wrote ''Oublier Palerme'' and obtained the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

; the novel was adapted to film as ''

Dimenticare Palermo ''Dimenticare Palermo'' (''Forgetting Palermo'') is a 1989 Italian political thriller film starring James Belushi, directed by Francesco Rosi and co-written by Gore Vidal. The film was released under the title ''The Palermo Connection'' in North Am ...

'' in 1990 by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

. The same year that she won the Goncourt she met

Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre (14 September 1910 – 7 May 1986) was a French Socialist politician. He served as mayor of Marseille for 33 years until his death in 1986. He was minister for overseas territories in Guy Mollet’s socialist government in 1956� ...

, the mayor of Marseille, and they married in 1973. Charles-Roux is also known for her photo stories on the lives of Defferre (''L'Homme de Marseille'', 2001), and of Coco Chanel (''Chanel Time'', 2004). She wrote the books of several of Roland Petit ballets, including ''Le Guépard'' and ''Nana''. She became a member of the

Académie Goncourt The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in Paris. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Go ...

in 1983, and president in 2002. In 2008, she was part of the Commission headed by

Hugues Gall Hugues Randolph Gall (born 18 March 1940) is a French opera manager, former head of the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the Paris Opera. Career Born in Honfleur, after his studies at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris and at the Sorbonne ...

and charged by

Christine Albanel Christine Albanel (born 25 June 1955) is a French politician and civil servant. From May 2007 to June 2009, she was France's Minister for Culture and Communication in François Fillon's government. Early career Albanel is agrégé in classica ...

, Minister of Culture, with recommending a candidate for the post of Director of the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1 ...

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

. In April 2010, she was awarded by French President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, with the rank of ''

Commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

de la

Légion d'Honneur 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 ...

''. Edmonde Charles-Roux died on 20 January 2016, in Marseille, at the age of 95.

Works

* ', 1966, Grasset, novel, prix Goncourt 1966 * ', 1971, Grasset, novel * ''L'Irrégulière ou mon itinéraire Chanel'', 1974, Grasset, biography * ''Stèle pour un bâtard'', 1980, Grasset, novel * Une enfance sicilienne'', 1981, Grasset, novel * ''Un désir d'Orient'', biography of Isabelle Eberhardt, vol I, 1989 Grasset * ''Nomade j'étais'', biography of Isabelle Eberhardt, vol II, 1995 Grasset, * ''L'homme de Marseille'', 2003, Grasset, photographic album * ''Isabelle du désert'', 2003 volume combining "Un désir d'Orient" and "Nomade j'étais" Grasset, * ''Le Temps Chanel'', 1979, La Martinière / Grasset, photographic album

English translations

* ''To forget Palermo'', Delacorte Press, 1968 * ''Chanel: her life, her world, and the woman behind the legend she herself created'', Knopf, 1975, ** ''Chanel and her world: friends, fashion, and fame'', Vendome Press, 2005,

References

External links

"Edmonde Charles-Roux", ''Academie Goncourt''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles-Roux, Edmonde 1920 births 2016 deaths People from Neuilly-sur-Seine French women novelists Writers from Île-de-France French military personnel of World War II Prix Goncourt winners Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) French women journalists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French women writers 21st-century French writers 21st-century French women writers French Resistance members Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur