Martial Piéchaud (6 September 1888 in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

– 24 August 1957 in Nay), was a 20th-century French writer, literary critic and playwright. He was a member of the "Lost Generation", and childhood friend of

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (; ; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

, André Lafon and Jean de La Ville de Mirmont. He won the Narcisse Michaud prize of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

Biography

Martial Piéchaud was from an old family of Bordeaux bourgeoisie. His father, , was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Bordeaux and eminent surgeon. His mother, Marie Cardez, was the daughter of Ferdinand Cardez, and descended from an old family of Bordeaux wine merchants, his family owning the Jourdan, Carsin, Villandraut and Deylet vineyards ( Rions). He attended the Lycée Saint-Joseph-de-Tivoli in Bordeaux before he was graduated in law in Paris. He wrote his first novel, ''Le Retour dans la nuit'', first published in '' La Revue hebdomadaire'', then by Éditions Grasset in 1914. This first novel assured him fame. The war interrupted his career as a novelist. He came out having lost his dear friends, André Lafon and Jean de La Ville de Mirmont, and was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. He held a literary critic column in numerous newspapers, namely la '' Revue de Paris'', ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' (; 1843–1944) was a French language, French illustrated weekly newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in ...

'', the '' Revue des deux Mondes'' or '' La Revue hebdomadaire''. As a playwright he authored ''Le Sommeil des amants'' given at the Théâtre Antoine, ''Le Quatrième'', presented at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

and ''Mademoiselle Pascal'' at the Théâtre de l'Odéon. The artists Dominique and Bertrand Piéchaud were his nephews. His brother, Louis Piéchaud, was also a close friend to

, who mentioned him several times in his ''Nouvelles Lettres d'une vie 1906-1970'', as well as Martial. He was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur and died 24 August 1957 in Nay.

Works

Novels

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

: ''Le Retour dans la nuit'', Éditions Grasset. *

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

: ''La Dernière auberge'', Grasset & Fasquelle. *

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

: ''Vallée heureuse'', Plon. *

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

: ''Renaître'', Plon. *

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

: ''Charline'', Plon. *

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

: ''La Romance à l'étoile'', Plon.

Short stories

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

: ''La Filleule de l'Impératrice''.

Theatre

* 1922: ''Mademoiselle Pascal'', presented at the Théâtre de l'Odéon. * 1923: ''Le Sommeil des Amants'', presented at the Théâtre Antoine. * 1928: ''Le Quatrième'', presented at the Comédie-Française. * 1932: ''Le Favori'', presented at the Odéon and published in ''La Petite Illustration''.

Works for radio

* ''Le Survivant''. * ''L'Escalier de Barbe-Bleue''. * ''La Remplaçante''.

Biographies

: ''Ainsi vécut Chateaubriand'', Paris, Hachette (Narcisse Michaut prize of the Académie françaiseSite of the Académie Française, prix ''Narcisse Michaut''
/ref>) *

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

: ''La Vie privée de Rachel'', Paris, Hachette.

Articles

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

: ''Les Revues des Folies-Bergère et du Casino de Paris'', Paris, published in ''La Revue hebdomadaire''. *

: ''Les Représentations classiques de la Comédie-Française'', in ''La Revue hebdomadaire''. * 1925: ''Sainte Jeanne, de Bernard Shaw, au Théâtre des arts'', in ''La Revue hebdomadaire''. *

: ''Nos Marionnettes de Croisset'', in ''La Revue hebdomadaire''. *

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

: ''Catiche'', in the '' Revue des deux Mondes''. * 1948: ''De Huysmans et de M. Folantin'', in ''

''. * 1948: ''Delacroix à Pierrefonds'', in the ''Revue des deux Mondes''. * 1948: ''Huit siècles de vie britannique à Paris'', in the ''Revue des deux Mondes''. * 1948: ''Marionnettes, Muses et Femmes'', in the ''Revue des deux Mondes''. * 1948: ''De l'Orangerie à Carnavalet'', in the Revue des deux Mondes'. * 1948: ''Chevaux et Cavaliers'', in the ''Revue des deux Mondes''. *

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

: ''A Versailles'', in the ''Revue des deux Mondes''.

Lectures

: ''Notre-Dame de la Sauve, Saint-Joseph de Tivoli'', Bordeaux, lecture given by Martial Piéchaud 29 April 1951.

References

Bibliography

*J. et B. Guérin, ''Des hommes et des activités autour d'un demi-siècle'' *Temerson, ''Biographie des principales personnalités, 1956 – 1963''

External links

Martial Piéchaud
on the site of the BNF.
Martial Piéchaud
on the site of the Académie française {{DEFAULTSORT:Piechaud, Martial 20th-century French novelists French literary critics 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights Writers from Bordeaux Officers of the Legion of Honour 1888 births 1957 deaths