Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born 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 ...

. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was attached to 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 For ...

. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a series featuring the anti-hero Salavin. In 1935, he was elected as a member of the

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 nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

twenty-seven times. He was also the father of the musicologist and composer

Antoine Duhamel Antoine Duhamel (30 July 1925 – 11 September 2014) was a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher. Life and career Born in Valmondois in the Val-d'Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel was one of the three sons of the Fre ...

Biography

Georges Duhamel was born in the

13th arrondissement of Paris The 13th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''treizième''. The arrondissement, called Gobelins, is situated ...

on 30 June 1884. He was the third child of a family which struggled to survive on the income of his unstable father. The strains and tensions of these early years are reflected in his famous autobiographical novel '' Le Notaire du Havre'' (1933), the first book of his Pasquier saga. In spite of this childhood disrupted by numerous crises, which on far too many occasions caused the Duhamel family to relocate abruptly, Georges nonetheless passed his baccalaureate in 1902. His first choice of career was to become a doctor, although he had a great love of literature and the arts and continued to pursue these interests also. Between 1906 and 1909 he founded an artistic community ''l'

Abbaye de Créteil L'Abbaye de Créteil or Abbaye group (french: Le Groupe de l'Abbaye) was a utopian artistic and literary community founded during the month of October, 1906. It was named after the Créteil Abbey, as most gatherings took place in that suburb of P ...

'' with

Charles Vildrac Charles Vildrac (November 22, 1882 – June 25, 1971), born "Charles Messager",''1971 Britannica Book of the Year'' (for events of 1971), "Obituaries 1971" article, page 532, "Vildrac, Charles" item was a French libertarian playwright, poet a ...

(who would become his brother in law). The group brought together poets, writers, musicians and painters. From 1912, he became an editor of the literary review ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

''. In 1935, he took over the direction of the review and its publishing house. In 1937, he was elected to the French

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the instituti ...

and

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

. In 1938, because of Duhamel's anti-war stance, he was replaced by Jacques Bernard, but Duhamel returned to directing the Mercure de France publishers in 1945 (he was majority stock-holder of the company). When the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was declared, Duhamel signed up and worked as an army surgeon for four years, often in dangerous situations. This painful experience provided the subject matter for two narratives which brought him immediate success, ''Vie des martyrs'' and ''Civilization'' (which won him 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 ...

in 1918). Once he returned to civilian life, Duhamel dedicated himself to literature and defending human civilisation. In 1919, he found two spots in the

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

where he would henceforth spend his summers ( Sausseron Valley and

Valmondois Valmondois () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. Valmondois station has rail connections to Persan, Creil, Pontoise and Paris. Local attractions * Musée des tramways à vapeur et des chemins de fer ...

). In 1935, Duhamel was elected to the 30th chair at the

. Between 1930 and 1940 he traveled to many conferences in France and abroad, speaking brilliantly of French language and culture as well as promoting the idea of a civilisation built on the human heart rather than technological progress. Duhamel described himself as "a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

and an

internationalist Internationalist may refer to: * Internationalism (politics), a movement to increase cooperation across national borders * Liberal internationalism, a doctrine in international relations * Internationalist/Defencist Schism, socialists opposed to ...

." During the

Second World War 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 ...

, Duhamel's work was banned by the Germans. He showed courage in his opposition to the occupation and the Petainist faction of the Académie française, later receiving public praise from Général de Gaulle. After the war, Duhamel was named president of the

Alliance française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and returned to public speaking on French culture. He built up numerous schools of the Alliance. Duhamel's health deteriorated from 1960 and he reduced his activities. He died in Valmondois on 13 April 1966. Cécile Debray is the great-granddaughter of Georges Duhamel and represents his heirs.

Works

General

* Vie des martyrs (1917) *

Civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of State (polity), a state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and Symbol, symbolic systems of communication beyond natural language, natur ...

(1918) (Prix Goncourt) *La Possession du monde (1919) *Les Hommes abandonnés (1921) * Vie et Aventures de Salavin (5 volumes) (1920-1932) **I. Confession de minuit **II. Deux hommes **III. Journal de Salavin **IV. Le Club des Lyonnais **V. Tel qu'en lui même *Les Plaisirs et les Jeux (1922) *Le Prince Jaffar (1924) *La Pierre d'Horeb (1926) *Lettres au Patagon (1926) *Le Voyage de Moscou (1927) *Mémorial de Cauchois (1927) * Les Sept Dernières Plaies (1928) *La Nuit d'orage (1928) * Scènes de la vie future (1930) * Géographie cordiale de l'Europe (1931) *Les Jumeaux de Vallangoujard (1931) * Querelles de famille (1932) * Chronique des Pasquier (10 volumes) (1933-1945) **I. Le Notaire du Havre **II. Le Jardin des bêtes sauvages **III. Vue de la terre promise **IV. La Nuit de la Saint Jean **V. Le Désert de Bièvre **VI. Les Maîtres **VII. Cécile parmi nous **VIII. Le Combat contre les ombres **IX. Suzanne et les Jeunes Hommes **X. La Passion de Joseph Pasquier *Fables de mon jardin (1936) *Mémorial de la guerre blanche (1939) *Positions Françaises (1940) *Lieu d'asile (1940) *Chronique des Saisons amères (1944) * La Musique consolatrice (1944) *Paroles de médecin (1944) * Inventaire de l'abîme (1944) *Biographie de mes fantômes (1944) *Le Temps de la recherche (1947) *Semaille au vent (1947) *Le Bestiaire et l'Herbier (1948) *La Pesée des âmes (1949) *Le Voyage de Patrice Périot (1950) *Les Espoirs et les Épreuves (1953) *Lumières sur ma vie (5 volumes) **I. Inventaire de l'abime **II. Biographie de mes fântômes **III. Le Temps de la recherche **IV. La Pesée des âmes **V. Les Espoirs et les Épreuves

Poetry

* Des légendes, des batailles (1907) * L’Homme en tête (1909) * Selon ma loi (1910) * Compagnons (1912) * Elégies (1920) * Anthologie de la poèsie lyrique française (1923) * Les Voix du vieux monde, mis en musique par Albert Doyen (1925)

Criticism

*Paul Claudel (1913) *Les Poètes et la Poésie (1914) *Défense des Lettres (1937) *Confessions sans pénitence (1941)

Theatre

*La Lumière (1911) *Dans l'ombre des statues (1912) *Le Combat (1913) *Le Cafard (1916) *L'œuvre de athlètes (1920) *Quand vous voudrez (1921)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duhamel, Georges 1884 births 1966 deaths Writers from Paris French literary critics 20th-century French novelists Prix Goncourt winners Members of the Académie Française French military personnel of World War I French male novelists French medical writers French pacifists 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers