Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...
. He was 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 ...
and Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
Biography
Kessel was born to a
Jewish
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""The ...
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. From 1905 to 1908, Joseph Kessel lived the first years of his childhood in Orenburg, Russia, before the family moved to France in 1908. He studied in ''lycée Masséna'',
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
and lycée Louis-le-Grand, Paris and took part in 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 fig ...
as an aviator. He was also an aviator 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, in the
Free French
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exil ...
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...
, with Romain Gary, who was also a talented French novelist.
Kessel wrote several novels and books that were later represented in the cinema, notably ''
Belle de Jour
Belle may refer to:
* Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'')
* Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Belle (surname), a list of people
Brands and enterprises
* Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania
* ...
'' (by
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
in 1967). In 1943 he and his nephew
Maurice Druon
Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999.
Life and career
Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...
Free French Forces
__NOTOC__
The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, la ...
during the Second World War.
Kessel was elected to 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 1962 and died on 23 July 1979 in
Avernes
Avernes () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Gadancourt was merged into Avernes.
Population
Filming a movie in Avernes in 1975
In the Brasserie "La T'Ave ...
,
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.< ...
of a ruptured aneurysm. He is buried in Paris in the Cimetière du Montparnasse. On his deathbed, he was quoted as saying that his greatest accomplishment was the birth of his son, Joseph Kessel, who was born just a few months prior on 24 February of the same year. The
Joseph-Kessel Prize
The Prix Joseph Kessel is a prize in French language literature, given to "a book of a high literary value written in French".
The jury includes or has included among its members Tahar Ben Jelloun, Jean-Marie Drot, Michèle Kahn, Pierre Haski, Gi ...
(Prix Joseph Kessel) is a prestigious prize in French language literature, given to "a book of a high literary value written in French". The jury counts or has counted among its members Tahar Ben Jelloun, Jean-Marie Drot, Michèle Kahn,
Pierre Haski
Pierre Haski (born 8 April 1953) is a French journalist, co-founder of Rue 89. He was deputy editor of ''Libération'' from January 2006 till his departure in 2007 from the daily.
Life
Haski started his career in 1974 as a journalist for the ...
,
Gilles Lapouge
Gilles Lapouge (7 November 1923 – 31 July 2020) was a French writer and journalist with the daily ''O Estado de S. Paulo''. He won the 2007 Prix Femina Essai.
Life
He grew up in Algeria, where his father was in the military.
After studying hist ...
,
Michel Le Bris
Michel Le Bris (1 February 1944 – 30 January 2021) was a French writer.
Career
He was a specialist on Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottis ...
,
Érik Orsenna
Érik Orsenna is the pen-name of Érik Arnoult (born 22 March 1947) a French politician and novelist. After studying philosophy and political science at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris ("Sciences Po"), Orsenna specialized in econom ...
,
Patrick Rambaud
Patrick Rambaud (born 21 April 1946) is a French writer.
Life
Born in Paris, France, with Michel-Antoine Burnier, he wrote forty pastiches, (satirical novels). They wrote ''Le Journalisme sans peine'' (Editions Plon, 1997). In 1970, he help foun ...
,
Jean-Christophe Rufin
Jean-Christophe Rufin (born 28 June 1952) is a French doctor, diplomat, historian, globetrotter and novelist. He is the president of Action Against Hunger, one of the earliest members of Médecins Sans Frontières, and a member of the Académie ...
,
André Velter
André Velter (born 1945), French poet, was born in Signy-l'Abbaye in the Ardennes région and was educated in Charleville and Paris. Having begun his first journeys in 1955 through Europe and the Middle East, he has traveled through Afghanis ...
* '' La steppe rouge'' (1922)
* ''L'Équipage'' (1923)
* ''Au camp des vaincus ou la critique du 11 mai '' (1924)
* ''
Mary de Cork
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française
Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...
Belle de Jour
Belle may refer to:
* Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'')
* Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Belle (surname), a list of people
Brands and enterprises
* Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania
* ...
'' (1928; it inspired
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
's 1967 movie of the same name)
* '' Vent de sable'' (1929)
* ''Fortune carrée'' (1932)
* ' (1931; made into the movie ''
Sirocco
Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season.
Names
''Sirocco'' derives from ...
'' in 1951 with Humphrey Bogart)
*''Wagon-lit'' (1932)
* ''La Passante du Sans-Souci'' (1936; turned into a movie by
Jacques Rouffio
Jacques Rouffio (14 August 1928 – 8 July 2016) was a French film director and screenwriter. His 1986 film '' My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister'' was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival.Hollywood, Ville mirage'' (Gallimard, NRF, 1936)
* ''Mermoz'' (1938)
* ''L'Armée des ombres'' (1943; adapted for a movie by Jean-Pierre Melville in 1969); ''Army of Shadows'' (Contra Mundum Press: 2017), featuring an intro by Stuart Kendall
* ''Le Bataillon du ciel'' (Sky Battalion), (1946; turned into a movie by Alexander Esway in 1947): Free French
SAS
SAS or Sas may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers
* ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series
* Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...
paratroopers in Brittany in Summer 1944
* '' Le tour du malheur'' (1950)
* ''Les Amants du Tage'' (1954)
* '' La Vallée des Rubis'' (1955)
* ''Le lion'' (English translation: '' The Lion''; 1958)
* ''Les mains du miracle'' (Gallimard, 1960). (English translation: )
* '' Les cavaliers'' (1967) (English translation: ''The Horsemen''. Translated by
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cen ...
Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to:
People
*Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
* Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...
(France, 1928, based on the novel ''L'Équipage'')
* ', directed by
Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...
(France, 1930, based on the novel ''Nuits de princes'')
* ''L'Équipage'', directed by
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...
(France, 1935, based on the novel ''L'Équipage'')
* '' The Woman I Love'', directed by
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...
(1937, based on the novel ''L'Équipage'')
* ', directed by Vladimir Strizhevsky (France, 1938, based on the novel ''Nuits de princes'')
* '' Le Bataillon du ciel'', directed by Alexander Esway (France, 1947, based on the novel ''Le Bataillon du ciel'')
* ''
Sirocco
Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season.
Names
''Sirocco'' derives from ...
'', directed by
Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt.
He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, w ...
(1951, based on the novel ''Le coup de grâce'')
* '' The Lovers of Lisbon'', directed by Henri Verneuil (France, 1955, based on the novel ''Les Amants du Tage'')
* ', directed by
Bernard Borderie Bernard Borderie (10 June 1924 in Paris – 28 May 1978 in Paris) was a French film director and screenwriter. His father, Raymond Borderie, was one of the producers of ''Children of Paradise, Les Enfants du Paradis'' (''Children of Paradise'', 1945 ...
(France, 1955, based on the novel ''Fortune carrée'')
* '' The Lion'', directed by Jack Cardiff (1962, based on the novel '' The Lion'')
* ''
Belle de Jour
Belle may refer to:
* Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'')
* Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Belle (surname), a list of people
Brands and enterprises
* Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania
* ...
'', directed by
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
(France, 1967, based on the novel ''
Belle de Jour
Belle may refer to:
* Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'')
* Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Belle (surname), a list of people
Brands and enterprises
* Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania
* ...
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were '' Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), '' The Manchurian Candidate'' ...
(1971, based on the novel ''Les Cavaliers'')
* '' The Passerby'', directed by
Jacques Rouffio
Jacques Rouffio (14 August 1928 – 8 July 2016) was a French film director and screenwriter. His 1986 film '' My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister'' was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival.Jacques de Baroncelli, France, 1934)
* ''
Mayerling
Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), southwest of Vienna. From 1550, it was in t ...
'' (dir.
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...
Richard Pottier Richard Pottier (6 June 1906, Graz – 2 November 1994, Le Plessis-Bouchard) was an Austrian-born French film director. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as Ernst Deutsch.
Selected filmography
* ''A Rare Bird'' (1935)
* ''Fanfare of Love ...
Georges Péclet
Prosper Désiré "Georges" Péclet (27 July 1897 – 11 January 1974) was a French actor, director, and screenwriter.
Career
Between 1919 and 1957, Péclet played in ninety-five films (including several short films). He was an assistant director ...
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...
The Night of the Generals
''The Night of the Generals'' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret. The screenpla ...
'' (dir.
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...
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 ...