Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the

Académie Goncourt The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in Paris. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Go ...

, most famous for the works ''

Poil de carotte ''Poil de carotte'' (En: ''Carrot Head'' or ''Carrot Top'') is a long short story or autobiographical novel by Jules Renard published in 1894 which recounts the childhood and the trials of a redheaded child. It is probably in this miserable child ...

'' (Carrot Top, 1894) and ''Les Histoires Naturelles'' (Nature Stories, 1896). Among his other works are ''Le Plaisir de rompre'' (The Pleasure of Breaking, 1898) and the posthumously published ''Huit Jours à la campagne'' (A Week in the Country, 1912).

Early life

The child of François Renard and Anna-Rose Colin, Renard was born in Châlons-du-Maine,

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...

where his father was working on the construction of a railroad. Renard grew up in Chitry-les-Mines, (

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, love of literature would eventually dominate his life. From 1885 to 86, he served in the military in

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

Life and career

On 28 April 1888, Renard married Marie Morneau. He and his wife lived at 43 rue du Rocher in the 8th

Arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

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 ...

. He began to frequent literary cafés and to contribute to Parisian newspapers. Among his steady friends were

Alfred Capus Alfred Capus (25 November 18581 November 1922) was a French journalist and playwright, who was born in Aix-en-Provence and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Biography Son of a lawyer from Marseille, Alfred Capus went to university in Toulon. After fail ...

and

Lucien Guitry Lucien Germain Guitry (13 December 1860 – 1 June 1925) was a French actor. Life In 1885, while living in Saint Petersburg, Guitry appeared at the French (or Mikhaylovsky) Theatre. His son, the future actor, writer and director Sacha Gui ...

. Jules Renard wrote poems, short stories, short plays, novels and his famous ''Poil de carotte''. He was elected mayor (''maire'') of Chitry les mines (58) on 15 May 1904 as the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

candidate and became a member of the

in 1907, thanks to

Octave Mirbeau Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...

. He died of

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of Artery, arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis ...

in Paris.

Work

Some of Jules Renard's works take their inspiration from the countryside he loved in the Nièvre region. His character portraits are sharp, ironic and sometimes cruel (in his ''Histoires naturelles'' he humanizes animals and animalizes men) and he was an active supporter of

pacifism 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

anticlericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

(apparent in ''La Bigote''). His ''

Journal, 1887–1910 ''Journal, 1887–1910'' is a published diary by the French author Jules Renard Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works '' Poil de carotte'' ...

'' (published in 1925) is a masterpiece of introspection, irony, humor and nostalgia, and provides an important glimpse into the literary life. The English writer

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

was influenced to publish his own well-known journals by the example of Renard. In the introduction to his own work ''A Writer's Notebook'', Maugham wrote an apt summary of the virtues of Renard's journal: "The journal is wonderfully good reading. It is extremely amusing. It is witty and subtle and often wise...Jules Renard jotted down neat retorts and clever phrases, epigrams, things seen, the sayings of people and the look of them, descriptions of scenery, effects of sunshine and shadow, everything, in short, that could be of use to him when he sat down to write for publication." The American novelist

Gilbert Sorrentino Gilbert Sorrentino (April 27, 1929 – May 18, 2006) was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, professor, and editor. In over twenty-five works of fiction and poetry, Sorrentino explored the comic and formal possibili ...

based his 1994 work ''

Red the Fiend Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

'' on Renard's ''

''. For a great part, the 2008 memoir ''Nothing to Be Frightened Of'' by the English novelist

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' Art ...

is a homage to Jules Renard. Renard is one of several popular philosophers whose quotations appear on the road signs of Project HIMANK in the

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

region of northern India. On one such sign in the

Nubra Valley Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan name ...

, he is quoted as saying, "Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired".

Works

Novels

*''Crime de village'' (1888) *''Sourires pincés'' (1890) *''L'Écornifleur'' (1892) *''La Lanterne sourde'' (1893) *''Coquecigrues'' (1893) *''Deux Fables sans morale'' (1893) *''Le Coureur de filles'' (1894) *''Histoires naturelles'' (1894) *''

'' (1894)
text
*''Le

Vigneron A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by winery, wineries or :Wine companies, wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulture, viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grape ...

dans sa vigne'' (1894) *''La Maîtresse'' (1896) *''Bucoliques'' (1898) *''Les Philippe'' (1907) *''Patrie'' (1907) *''Mots d'écrit'' (1908) *''Ragotte'' (1909) *''Nos Frères farouches'' (1909) *''Causeries'' (1910) *''L'Œil clair'' (1913) *''Les Cloportes'' (1919)

Plays

*''La Demande'' (1895) *''Le Plaisir de rompre'' (1897) *''Le Pain de ménage'' (1898) *''Poil de carotte'' (1900) *''Monsieur Vernet'' (1903) *''La Bigote'' (1909) *''Huit Jours à la campagne'' (1912)

Non-fiction

*''

'' (1925)
text
*''Writing lessons'', published by Ringer (2008)

Bibliophilia

*''The Écornifleur'' (1892), original etchings by Jacques Boullaire, Les Bibliophiles de France, Paris (1955) *''Philippe'' (1907), original lithographs by André Minaux, Les Bibliophiles Franks, Paris (1958)

Quotes

*It is not how old you are but how you are old. *If you are afraid of being lonely, don't try to be right. *Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none. *Culture is what's left after you have forgotten everything. *I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't. *Look for the ridiculous in everything, and you will find it. *If money does not make you happy; give it back. *Writing is the only way to talk without being interrupted. *If one were to build the house of happiness, the largest space would be the waiting room. *Dying serves no purpose so die now. *The horse is the only animal into which one can bang nails. *We don't understand life any better at forty than at twenty, but we know it and admit it. *I find when I do not think of myself I do not think at all. *Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others. *Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. *The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse. *Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. *As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more. *I am never bored anywhere; being bored is an insult to oneself. *If I were to begin life again, I should want it as it was. I would only open my eyes a little more. *Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties. *Not everybody can be an orphan.

References

External links

Jules Renard
on ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

''
Jules Renard Biography and Bibliography

* * *
Jules Renard Quotes - The Quotations Page
at www.quotationspage.com *

' *
Pour Jules Renard: Biography, quotes and many links
' *
Amoureux de Jules Renard: Daily Diary and quotes
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Renard, Jules 1864 births 1910 deaths People from Mayenne 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French male novelists 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights French male short story writers 19th-century French short story writers 19th-century French male writers 20th-century French short story writers 20th-century French male writers