Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalis ...

, and a 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 G ...

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Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ...

, his mother was

Julia Daudet Julia Daudet, born Julia Allard (13 July 1844 – 23 April 1940), was a French writer, poet and journalist. She was the wife and collaborator of Alphonse Daudet, mother of Léon Daudet, Lucien Daudet and Edmée Daudet. Biography Julia Allard ...

and his younger brother,

Lucien Daudet Lucien Daudet (11 June 1878 – 16 November 1946) was a French writer, the son of Alphonse Daudet and Julia Daudet. Although a prolific novelist and painter, he was never really able to trump his father's greater reputation and is now primarily ...

, would also become an artist. He was educated at the

Lycée Louis le Grand In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children betwee ...

, and afterwards studied medicine, a profession which he abandoned. Léon Daudet married Jeanne Hugo, the granddaughter of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, in 1891 and thus entered into the higher social and intellectual circles of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

. He divorced his wife in 1895 and became a vocal critic of the Republic, the Dreyfusard camp, and of democracy in general. Portrait of Léon Daudet

Together with

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

(who remained a lifelong friend), he co-founded (1907) and was an editor of the nationalist,

integralist In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (french: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an authoritarian and anti- pluralist Catholic state, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within t ...

periodical ''

Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

''. A

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

from 1919 to 1924, he failed to win election as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1927 – despite having gained prominence as the voice of the monarchists. When Maurras was released from prison after serving a sentence for verbally attacking Prime Minister

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

, Daudet joined other political leaders Xavier Vallat, Darquier de Pellepoix, and

Philippe Henriot Philippe Henriot (7 January 1889 – 28 June 1944) was a French poet, journalist, politician, and minister in the French government at Vichy, where he directed propaganda broadcasts. He also joined the Milice part-time. Career Philippe Henriot, ...

to welcome him in the Vel' d'Hiv in July 1937.

Scandals and later life

When his son Philippe was discovered fatally shot in 1923, Daudet accused the republican authorities of complicity with

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

activists in what he believed to be a murder, and lost a lawsuit for

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

brought against him by the driver of the taxi in which Philippe's body was found. That same year,

Germaine Berton Germaine Berton (7 June 1902, in Puteaux – 6 July 1942, in Paris) was a French anarchist and trade unionist. She is known for the murder of Marius Plateau, an editor for the ''Action Francaise'' journal and a leader in the royalist organisati ...

carried out an assassination against fellow ''

'' writer Marius Plateau. Daudet was also a target of this assassination but was not present at the time of the shooting. Condemned to five months in prison, Daudet fled and was exiled in Belgium, receiving a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

in 1930. In 1934, during the Stavisky Affair, he was to denounce Prime Minister

Camille Chautemps Camille Chautemps (1 February 1885 – 1 July 1963) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister). He was the father-in-law of U.S. politician and statesman Howard J ...

, calling him the "leader of a gang of robbers and assassins". He also showed particular detestation for the subsequent Prime Minister

, candidate of a coalition of socialists and other parties of the left. A supporter of the Vichy administration headed by

Marshal Pétain Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated ...

, Léon Daudet died in

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; Provençal Occitan: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' in classical and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' in Mistralian norms) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. L ...

Works

Novels
''Les Morticoles''
(1894). * ''Le Voyage de Shakespeare'' (1896).
''Suzanne''
(1896).
''Sébastien Gouvès''
(1899). * ''Les Deux Étreintes'' (1901).
''Le Partage de l'Enfant''
(1905).
''La Mésentente''
(1911). * ''Le Lit de Procuste'' (1912). * ''Le Cœur et l'Absence'' (1917).
''Dans la Lumière''
(1919). * ''L'Amour est un Songe'' (1920).
''L'Entremetteuse''
(1921). * ''Le Napus, Fléau de l'an 2227'' (1927). * ''Les Bacchantes'' (1931). * ''Un Amour de Rabelais'' (1933). * ''Médée'' (1935). Essays
''L'Avant-guerre''
(1915).
''Contre l'Esprit Allemand de Kant à Krupp''
(1915).
''L'Hérédo, Essai sur le Drame Intérieur''
(1916).
''La Guerre Totale''
(1918).
''Le Poignard Dans le Dos: Notes sur l'Affaire Malvy''
(1918).
''Le Monde des Images: Suite de L'Hérédo''
(1919).
''Le Stupide XIXe Siècle''
(1922).
''Notre Provence''
(with

, 1933). Pamphlets * ''Le Nain de Lorraine - Raymond Poincaré'' (1930). * ''Le Garde des Seaux - Louis Barthou'' (1930). * ''Le Voyou De Passage - Aristide Briand'' (1930). Miscellany * ''Alphonse Daudet'' (1898). * ''Souvenirs des Milieux Littéraires, Politiques, Artistiques et Médicaux'' (1914–1921): *
''Fantômes et Vivants''
(1914). *
''Devant la Douleur''
(1915). *
''L'Entre-Deux-Guerres''
(1915). ** ''Salons et Journaux'' (1917). ** ''Au Temps de Judas'' (1920). *
''Vers le Roi''
(1921). * ''La Pluie de Sang'' (1932). * ''Député de Paris'' (1933). * ''Paris Vécu'': ** ''Rive Droite'' (1929). ** ''Rive Gauche'' (1930). * ''Quand Vivait mon Père'' (1940). Works in English translation
''Alphonse Daudet''
(1898). * ''Memoirs of Léon Daudet'' (1925). * ''The Stupid Nineteenth Century'' (1928). * ''Cloudy Trophy; the Romance of Victor Hugo'' (1938). * ''The Tragic Life of Victor Hugo'' (1939). * ''Clemenceau; a Stormy Life'' (1940). * ''The Napus: The Great Plague of the Year 2227'' (translated, annotated and introduced by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

, 2013). * ''The Bacchantes: A Dionysian Scientific Romance'' (translated, annotated and introduced by

, 2013). Selected articles * "The Overthrow of German Military Prestige," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 302 (1919). * "The Stupid Nineteenth Century," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 312 (1922). * "Sulla and His Destiny," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 315 (1922). * "Maeterlinck's Book on Ants," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 339 (1930). * "My Father Alphonse," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 339 (1930).

References

External links

*
Works by Léon Daudet
at

Hathi Trust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

Works by Léon Daudet
at

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Works by Léon Daudet
at Gallica * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daudet, Leon 1867 births 1942 deaths Writers from Paris Politicians from Paris French monarchists French nationalists Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic People affiliated with Action Française Members of the Ligue de la patrie française People associated with the Dreyfus affair 20th-century French journalists French biographers French memoirists Antisemitism in France 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists French male novelists 19th-century French male writers 20th-century French male writers Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni French male non-fiction writers Daudet family French collaborators with Nazi Germany

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Scandals and later life

Works

References

Further reading

External links