Francis Walder, born Francis Waldburger (5 August 1906 – 10 April 1997) was a Belgian writer and soldier. He was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at the age of 90.

Life

He studied at the Royal Military Academy in Belgium. During the

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 ...

, he was a prisoner of war in Germany for five years. And he was a representative of the Belgian army that participated in diplomatic discussions after the Armistice. This experience will serve as a crucible for his work to come. During his military career, he published only a few philosophical texts, ("Deep existence", "Seasons of the mind"), before devoting himself to writing after reaching retirement. In 1958 he received 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 ...

for '' Saint-Germain ou la négociation'' (Gallimard), an historical novel that recounts the negotiations between the crown of France and the Huguenots in 1570, negotiations leading to the fragile

Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on 8 August 1570 by Charles IX of France, Gaspard II de Coligny and Jeanne d'Albret, and ended the 1568 to 1570 Third Civil War, part of the French Wars of Religion. The Peace went much further tha ...

. This book deals with great subtlety with the entire diplomatic negotiations among the powerful. He continued with the historical novel in two other novels: "A Letter for Hire" (Gallimard, 1962) whose work is in the seventeenth century and revived the courtier and poet

Vincent Voiture Vincent Voiture (24 February 1597 – 26 May 1648), French poet and writer of prose, was the son of a rich wine merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Claude d'Avaux, to Gaston, Duke of Orléans, and accompanied him ...

and "Chaillot or co-existence" (Belfond, 1987) that shows the co-habitation policy of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

and

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

in counterpoint to the co-existence of Cardinal and

Gaston, Duke of Orléans '' Monsieur'' Gaston, Duke of Orléans (Gaston Jean Baptiste; 24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660), was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a '' Fils de France''. He lat ...

, brother of the King. His novels, meticulous style, often tinged with pessimism and are haunted by the specter of the impossible love between persons of different origin or social status.

Works

* ''L'existence profonde (essays) 1953 * ''Les saisons de l'esprit'' (essays) Aubier, 1955 * ''Saint-Germain ou la négociation'' Gallimard, 1958 * ''Cendre et or'', Gallimard, 1959 * ''Une lettre de Voiture'', Gallimard, 1962 * ''Chaillot ou la coexistence'' P. Belfond, 1987, * ''Le hasard est un grand artiste'' P. Belfond, 1991,

English Translations

* ''The negotiators'',

McDowell, Obolensky Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (May 15, 1925 – January 29, 2019) was an American financial analyst and corporate officer. He was previously commissioned in the United States Navy, serving as a Flight Lieutenant, and had also been a publishe ...

, 1959

External links

"Principales commémorations nationales, anniversaires, rencontres et célébrations culturelles, artistiques ou littéraires prévues pour l'année 2007", ''La République des Lettres''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walder, Francis 1906 births 1997 deaths Belgian essayists Writers from Brussels Belgian writers in French Prix Goncourt winners 20th-century Belgian writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century Belgian male writers Belgian prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Belgian military personnel of World War II Royal Military Academy (Belgium) alumni