Jacqueline Harpman (5 July 1929 – 24 May 2012) was a Belgian writer who wrote in French. She was born on 5 July 1929, in

Etterbeek Etterbeek ( French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

, Belgium, and was later well known for her books written in French. Her father being a Dutch-born

Jew 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""Th ...

, Harpman's family fled to

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, Morocco when the Nazis invaded during World War Two and they did not return home until the war had ended. After studying French literature, Harpman began training to become a doctor but could not complete her studies as she contracted tuberculosis. She began writing in 1954 and her first work, ''L'Amour et l'acacia'', was published in 1958. In 1980, she qualified as a

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...

. ''I Who Have Never Known Men'' was her first book to be published in English, and was originally published with the title ''The Mistress of Silence''. She died on 24 May 2012, in Brussels, Belgium, after having been severely ill for a long time. She was 82. In 2019, an avenue in Brussels was named after her in acknowledgement of her works.

Works

* ''L'Amour et l'acacia'' – 1958 * ''Brève Arcadie'' – 1959 (winner of the Prix Rossel

* ''L'Apparition des esprits'' – 1960 * ''Les Bons Sauvages'' – 1966 * ''La Mémoire trouble'' – 1987 * ''La Fille démantelée'' – 1990 * ''La Plage d'Ostende'' – 1991 * ''La Lucarne'' – 1992 * ''Le Bonheur dans le crime'' – 1994 * '' I Who Have Never Known Men, Moi qui n'ai pas connu les hommes'' – 1995 * ''Orlanda'' – 1996 (winner of the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

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* ''L'Orage rompu'' – 1998 * ''Dieu et moi'' – 1999 * ''Récit de la dernière année'' – 2000 * ''Le véritable amour'' – 2000 * ''La vieille dame et moi'' – 2001 * ''En quarantine'' – 2001 * '' La Dormition des amants'' – 2002 * ''Le Passage des éphémères'' – 2003 * ''En toute impunité'' – 2006

References

1929 births 2012 deaths Belgian psychologists Belgian women psychologists Prix Médicis winners Belgian women writers {{Belgium-writer-stub