Luc Bastard (pen name: Luc Estang; 1911–1992) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

writer, critic and publisher. He was born in Paris and attended

boarding schools A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

and

Catholic seminaries The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He began his writing career in 1929, and published his first newspaper piece in 1933. In 1934, he joined the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

daily ''

La Croix La Croix primarily refers to: * ''La Croix'' (newspaper), a French Catholic newspaper * La Croix Sparkling Water, a beverage distributed by the National Beverage Corporation La Croix or Lacroix may also refer to: Places * Lacroix-Barrez, a muni ...

'' as literature and arts critic, and he rose to be its editor-in-chief in 1940. In 1945 he became a permanent jury member of the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

. In 1955, he quit his position at ''La Croix'', seeking to break through the constraints of being known as "just another Catholic writer", or worse, a Catholic propagandist. He was a friend of renowned Catholic writers such as Mauriac,

Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...

, Claudel and Jouhandeau. He continued to write through personal and professional upheavals, eventually producing some 20 novels. Among his best-known novels are the trilogy called ''Charges d'Ames'' (''The Cure of Souls'', 1949-1954), which has been compared to

Roger Peyrefitte Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

's 1945 novel ''Les Amities particulieres'' (''Special friendships''). He was influenced by writers such as Peguy, Mauriac,

Alain-Fournier Alain-Fournier () was the pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier (3 October 1886 – 22 September 1914Mémoi ...

and Saint-Exupery. Notable among his later novels are ''L'Apostat'' (1968) and ''Les Deicides'' (1980). Also in 1955, he became a regular contributor to ''Figaro Litteraire''. That same year, he co-founded the literary publishing house

Editions du Seuil Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

, where he published French authors such as

Julien Green Julien Green (September 6, 1900 – August 13, 1998) was an American writer who authored several novels (''The Dark Journey'', ''The Closed Garden'', ''Moira'', ''Each Man in His Darkness'', the ''Dixie'' trilogy, etc.), a four-volume autobiog ...

Renaud Camus Renaud Camus (; ; born Jean Renaud Gabriel Camus on 10 August 1946) is a French novelist, Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist and White nationalism, white nationalist writer. He is the inventor of the "Great Replacement", a Far-right politic ...

Philippe Sollers Philippe Sollers (; born Philippe Joyaux; 28 November 1936) is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the ''avant garde'' literary journal ''Tel Quel'' (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was published by Le Se ...

Didier Decoin Didier Decoin (born 13 March 1945) is a French screenwriter and writer awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1977. Biography He is the son of filmmaker Henri Decoin. He began his career as a newspaper journalist at ''France Soir'', ''Le Figaro'' and ...

- many of them for the first time - and foreign writers such as

DM Thomas Donald Michael Thomas (born 27 January 1935), is a British poet, translator, novelist, editor, biographer and playwright. His work has been translated into 30 languages. Working primarily as a poet throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Thomas's 1981 ...

John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to G ...

Alexander Zinoviev Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Зино́вьев; October 29, 1922 – May 10, 2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist. Coming from a poor peasant famil ...

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), Australian journalist and schoolmaster * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), ...

Severo Sarduy Severo Sarduy (February 25, 1937 – June 8, 1993) was a Cubans, Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art. Some of his works deal explicitly with male homosexuality and transvestism. Biography Born in a working-class ...

Amos Oz Amos Oz ( he, עמוס עוז; born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onw ...

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his f ...

and

Heinrich Boll Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

. As a poet, he published his first book of verse in 1938, titled ''Au-dela de moi-meme'' (''Beyond myself''). This was followed by the critically acclaimed volume ''Transhumances'' (1939). Other works of poetry included ''Mystere apprivoise'' (''The Mystery Tamed'', 1943), ''La Laisse du Temps'' (''Time on a leash'', 1977) and ''Corps a Coeur'' (''Heart Body'', 1982). His last collection, ''Memorable planete'' appeared from Gallimard the year before his death. He was also a broadcasting pioneer, creating serious literary programmes for the radio, notably on

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes (including debates, discussions, and documentari ...

. He married Suzanne Bouchereau-Boigontier in 1939; the two had a daughter. He died in Paris in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estang, Luc French writers 1911 births 1992 deaths