François Taillandier (born in 1955,

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) is a French writer portraying the French contemporary society.

Life

Henri Vernes Charles-Henri-Jean Dewisme (16 October 1918 – 25 July 2021), better known by his pen name Henri Vernes (), was an author of action and science fiction novels. He published over 200 titles in the action and science-fiction genre. He was most ...

, creator of

Bob Morane ''Bob Morane'' is a series of adventure books in French, featuring an eponymous protagonist, created by French-speaking Belgian novelist Henri Vernes, the pseudonym of Charles-Henri Dewisme. More than 200 novels have been written since his int ...

, fired a passion the 12-year-old Taillandier was not going to give up. In 1968 he began to read Honoré de Balzac. This classic French writer and

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

Cyrano Cyrano may refer to: Astronomy * 3582 Cyrano, a small main belt asteroid * Cyrano (crater), a lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon Stage and film * ''Cyrano'' (Damrosch), a 1913 opera by Walter Damrosch * ''Cyrano'', a 195 ...

's father, had a strong influence on him. Attending classical literature studies in the university, he graduated in 1977 with a memoir about the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

. In 1979 he taught literature for 4 years before resigning from his position to become a full-time writer. In 1984 he became journalist for the Revue Hebdo. Taillandier finds the inspiration walking in Paris, listening conversations while in the bistros. In 2006 he was appointed president of the

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

. Taillandier, divorcé, is the father of three.

Works

In 1990 he published ''Les Clandestins'', rewarded by the

Prix Jean-Freustié Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

. In 1992 the novel ''Les Nuits Racine'' received the

Roger Nimier Prize The Roger Nimier Prize () is a French literature award. It is supposed to go to "a young author whose spirit is in line with the literary works of Roger Nimier". Nimier (1925–1962) was a novelist and a leading member of the Hussards movement. The ...

. In 1999 ''Anielka'' is published and received the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française. In 2005 he published ''Option Paradis'', the first novel in a series of a five-interlinked novels cycle, divided in fifty-five chapters (eleven chapters each novel) called ''La Grande Intrigue'' (The Big Plot), reviving a French classical literature tradition (

La Comédie Humaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

by Honoré de Balzac,

Les Rougon-Macquart ''Les Rougon-Macquart'' is the collective title given to a cycle of twenty novels by French writer Émile Zola. Subtitled ''Histoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le Second Empire'' (''Natural and social history of a family under the Se ...

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

). Following the evolution of five families through five generations, this work will be completed in 2010, celebrating the Taillandier's fifty-fifth anniversary. Telling, the second novel of this series was published in 2006.

Present days

He currently writes for French newspapers

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

l'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

et la Montagne and keeps developing ''La Grande Intrigue'', writing "''only when everybody is sleeping''".

Bibliography

Novels

*Personages de la rue du Couteau (Julliard, 1984) *Tott (Julliard, 1985) *Benoît ou les contemporains obscurs (Julliard, 1986) *Les clandestins (De Fallois, 1990) *Les Nuits Racine (De Fallois, 1992) *Mémoires de Monte-Cristo (De Fallois, 1994) *Des hommes qui s'éloignent (Fayard, 1997) *Anielka (Stock, 1999) *Journal de Marseille (Rocher, 1999) *N6, La route de l'Italie (Stock, 2000) *Le cas Gentile, (Stock, 2001) *Option paradis (Stock, 2005) *Telling (Stock, 2006) *Il n'y a personne dans les tombes (Stock, 2007)

Short stories

*Intrigues (00h00 editions, 2001)

Essays

*Aragon (Fayard, 1997) *Borges (François Bourin, 1993) *Les parents lâcheurs (Rocher, 2001)

Biography

*Balzac (Gallimard, Folio)

Citations

*''Tout une part de la production romanesque contemporaine est rassurante. Ce sont des romans qui miment le roman. Ils trahissent une grande nostalgie pour le passé.''Taillandier's interview in Chronicart

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taillandier, Francois 20th-century French non-fiction writers 21st-century French non-fiction writers Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française winners French Roman Catholic writers Roger Nimier Prize winners Writers from Clermont-Ferrand 1955 births Living people 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers Le Figaro people