Louise Bellocq, real name Marie-Louise Boudât, (20 January 1919,

Charleville-Mézières or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department, Grand Est. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. ...

– 25 August 1999) was a 20th-century French woman of letters born in a family of

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

origin. She was awarded the

Prix Fémina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

in 1960.

Biography

Before the Second World War, she published three volumes of verse under her real name. She returned to settle in Pau in the family home after setbacks of fortune, and held a boarding house. In 1955, she published a novel, ''La Ferme de l'Ermitage'', the first version of which was written for a contest organized by '' La Semaine de Suzette'' read by her daughter. She also wrote children's books. In 1960, she won the

for ''La Porte retombée''. The awarding of this literary prize led to severe criticism of

Beatrix Beck Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

, but Louise Bellocq was defended by

Dominique Rolin Dominique Rolin (22 May 1913 – 15 May 2012) was a Belgian novelist. Dominique Rolin was a granddaughter of Léon Cladel.Henri Peyre, ''French Novelists of Today'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1967, p.438 Her career was launched by Jean ...

, and Beatrix Beck presented her resignation from the jury.

Works

* 1952: ''Le Passager de la Belle aventure'' * 1955: ''La Ferme de l'ermitage'' * 1960: ''La Porte retombée'', Éditions Gallimard, Prix Femina * 1963: ''Mesdames Minnigan'' * 1964: ''Conte de mes bêtes sous la Lune'' * 1968: ''Conte de mes bêtes à l'aventure''

References

External links

''La Porte retombée''
on Sens critique
''Confidences de gargouille'' par Béatrix Beck

Louise Bellocq
on Gallimard 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French women writers Prix Femina winners People from Charleville-Mézières 1919 births 1960s deaths {{France-poet-stub