![Curtis Harcourt 1947 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Curtis_Harcourt_1947_2.jpg)
Jean-Louis Curtis (22 May 1917 – 11 November 1995),
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
of Albert Laffitte, was a French novelist best known for his second novel ''
The Forests of the Night'' (French: ''Les Forêts de la nuit''),
[ which won France's highest literary award 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 1947. He is the author of over 30 novels.[
]
Life
Curtis was born in Orthez
Orthez (; eu, Ortheze; oc, Ortès, ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of New Aquitaine, southwestern France.
It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the sma ...
, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...
.[ He attended the Bordeaux Faculty of Arts after secondary studies in his hometown. He then became a student at the ]Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
before traveling to England from September 1937 to July 1939. In August 1939, he was mobilized as part of the Air Force from January 1940. He transferred to Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
in May 1940. At the end of September 1940, he demobilized and returned to France and taught at the lycée de Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
. He passed the agrégation exam in English with success in 1943. He then taught as an English professor at the lycée de Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...
. In August 1944, he took part in the Corps franc Pommiès, the campaign for the liberation of France.
In 1946, he published his first novel, ''Les Jeunes Hommes''. In 1947, he won 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 his novel ''Les Forêts de la nuit''. He was one of the founders in 1948 of the literary monthly ''La Table Ronde
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 ...
''. In 1955, he left teaching to devote himself to writing. From 1963 to 1972, he was a member of the Advance Revenue Commission at the National Film Center. In 1972, he received the Grand prix de littérature de l'Académie française
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...
for all of his work. As a specialist in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, he was responsible for the French subtitling of television adaptations of plays by the English playwright, produced by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
between 1978 and 1985, and broadcast in France in the mid-1980s. He was elected 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 ...
in 1986. He has written several collections of pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
s on contemporary events such as the student revolts of May 1968 and the socialist victory in France in May 1981.
Martin Seymour-Smith
Martin Roger Seymour-Smith (24 April 1928 – 1 July 1998) was a British poet, literary critic, and biographer.
Biography
Seymour-Smith was born in London and educated at Highgate School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he was editor of ''Isi ...
said of Curtis in the early 1980s:
:He is one of the best of the 'conventional' novelists now writing in France, but is very uneven: he is not worried about originality of technique, and prefers to concentrate on what he can do well, which is to anatomize bourgeois societies and 'artistic' communities.[
The author ]Michel Houellebecq
Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas, 26 February 1956 or 1958) is a French author, known for his novels, poems and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker and singer.
His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer ...
made a homage to him in a long passage in ''La carte et le territoire
''The Map and the Territory'' (french: La carte et le territoire, ) is a novel by French author Michel Houellebecq. The narrative revolves around a successful artist, and involves a fictional murder of Houellebecq. It was published on 4 Septembe ...
'' (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 ...
2010).
Works
*''Les Jeunes hommes'' (1946)
*''Les Forets de la nuit'' (1947; '' The Forests of the Night'') - "acid portraits of those who played at being members of the Resistance" Winner of 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 ...
1947.
*''Gibier de Potence'' (1949; ''Lucifer's Dream'') - "an acid picture of postwar Paris".
*''Haute École'' (1950)
*''Chers corbeaux'' (1951) - "targets the Parisian bourgeoisie who had done well out of the Nazi occupation"[
*''Les Justes Causes'' (1954; ''The Side of the Angels'') - about the liberation of Paris.
*''L'Échelle de soie'' (1956)
*''Un Saint au néon'' (1956)
*''La Parade'' (1960) - "a devastating satire on rich old provincial upper-class drones".][
*''Cygne sauvage'' (1962)
*''La Quarantaine'' (1966)
*''Le Jeune couple'' (1967) - "dealt with the splendours and miseries of .. 'consumer society'".][
*''Le Thé sous les cyprès'' (1969)
*''Un miroir le long du chemin'' (1969)
*''Le Roseau pensant'' (1971)
*''La Chine m'inquiète'' (1972)
*''Questions à la littérature'' (1973)
*''L'Étage noble'' (1976)
*''L'Horizon dérobé'' (1978)
*''La Moitié du chemin'' (1980) - Volume 2 of ''L'Horizon dérobé''
*''Le Battement de mon cœur'' (1981) - Volume 3 of ''L'Horizon dérobé'
*''Le Mauvais choix'' (1984) - "attacked Christian bigotry. It is his only historical novel, set in the third century AD."][
*''Le Temple de l'amour'' (1990)
*''La France m'épuise'' (1992)
*''Le monde comme il va'' (1995)
*''Andromède'' (1996)
]
References
External links
Biography
from 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 ...
(French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Jean-Louis
1917 births
1995 deaths
People from Orthez
Writers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine
20th-century French novelists
20th-century French male writers
French male novelists
Members of the Académie Française
Prix Goncourt winners
Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres