Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
and a member of the
Académie Française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999.
Life and career
Born in
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 ...
, France, Druon was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrant Lazare Kessel (1899–1920) and was brought up at
La Croix-Saint-Leufroy
La Croix-Saint-Leufroy is a former commune in the Eure department in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Clef-Vallée-d'Eure. and his mother remarried in 1926; Maurice subsequently took the name of his adoptive father, the lawyer René Druon (1874–1961).
He was the nephew of the writer
Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.
Biography
Kessel was born to a Jewish family in ...
, with whom he translated the ''
Chant des Partisans The "Chant des Partisans" (; "Song of the Partisans") was the most popular song of the Free French and French Resistance during World War II.
The piece was written and put to melody in London in 1943 after Anna Marly heard a Russian song, namely Po ...
'', a
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
anthem of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with music and words (in Russian) originally by
Anna Marly
Anna Marly (russian: Анна Юрьевна Смирнова-Марли, Anna Yurievna Smirnova-Marli), (30 October 1917 – 15 February 2006) was a Russian-born French singer-songwriter. Born into a wealthy Russian noble family, Marly came to F ...
. Druon was a member of the Resistance and came to London in 1943 to participate in the BBC's "Honneur et Patrie" programme.
Druon began writing for literary journals at the age of 18. In September 1939, having been called up for military service, he wrote an article for '' Paris-Soir'' entitled "J'ai vingt ans et je pars (I am twenty years old and I am leaving)". Following the fall of France in 1940, he was demobilized and remained in the unoccupied zone of France, and his first play, ''Mégarée'', was produced in Monte Carlo in February 1942. He left the same year to join the forces of
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
. Druon became aide de camp to General
François d'Astier de La Vigerie
François d'Astier de La Vigerie (7 March 1886 – 9 October 1956) was a French military leader during two World Wars.
His family were from Vivarais, and were ennobled in 1829 under the French Restoration. His father, le baron Raoul d'Astier ...
.
In 1948 Druon received the
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...
for his novel ', and later published two sequels.
Druon was elected to the 30th seat of the Académie française on 8 December 1966, succeeding
Georges Duhamel
Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...
. He was elected as "Perpetual Secretary" in 1985, but chose to resign the office in late 1999 due to old age; he successfully pushed for
Hélène Carrère d'Encausse
Hélène Carrère d'Encausse (; born Hélène Zourabichvili; 6 July 1929) is a French political historian of Georgian origin, specializing in Russian history. Since 1999, she has served as the Perpetual Secretary of the Académie française, to ...
to succeed him, the first woman to hold the post, and was styled Honorary Perpetual Secretary after 2000. On the death of
Henri Troyat
Henri Troyat (born Lev Aslanovich Tarasov; – 2 March 2007) was a Russian-born French author, biographer, historian and novelist.
Early life
Lev Aslanovich Tarasov (russian: link=no, Лев Асланович Тарасов, ''Lev Aslanovich ...
on 2 March 2007, he became the Dean of the ''Académie'', its longest-serving member.
While his scholarly writing earned him a seat at the Académie, Druon is best known for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1950s under the title ''
Les Rois maudits
''The Accursed Kings'' (french: Les Rois maudits ) is a series of historical novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series has been adapted as a miniseries twice ...
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
stated that the novels had been an inspiration for his fantasy series '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', and called Druon "France's best historical novelist since Alexandre Dumas, ''père''".
Druon's only work for children – ''Tistou les pouces verts'' – was published in 1957 and translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
in 1958 (as ''Tistou of the Green Thumbs'') and 2012 (as ''Tistou: The Boy With Green Thumbs'').
Druon was Minister of Cultural Affairs (1973–1974) in
Pierre Messmer
Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under L ...
's cabinet, and a deputy of Paris (1978–1981). He was survived by his second wife, Madeleine Marignac, whom he married in 1968. Madeleine Druon died in 2016 aged 91.
Druon was a descendant of Brazilian author Odorico Mendes.
''Les Rois maudits'' (''The Accursed Kings'')
The individual English titles below are from the Scribner English editions as published in the United States, rather than literal translations of the original French titles.
# ''Le Roi de fer'' (''The Iron King'')
# ''La Reine étranglée'' (''The Strangled Queen'')
# ''Les Poisons de la couronne'' (''The Poisoned Crown'')
# ''La Loi des mâles'' (''The Royal Succession'')
# ''La Louve de France'' (''The She-Wolf of France'')
# ''Le Lys et le lion'' (''The Lily and the Lion'')
# ''Quand un Roi perd la France'' (''The King Without a Kingdom'')
Bibliography
* ''Mégarée, pièce en trois actes, créée au Grand Théâtre de Monte-Carlo'' (1942)
* ''Le Sonneur de bien aller'' (1943 — novella)
* ''Préface d'un chameau en pyjame'' (1943)
* ''Le Chant des Partisans'' (with Joseph Kessel, 1943)
* ''Lettres d’un Européen, essai'' (1944)
* ''La Dernière Brigade, roman'' (1946)
* ''Ithaque délivrée, poème dramatique traduit de l’anglais; d’après The Rescue d’Edward Sackville-West'' (1947)
* ''Les Grandes Familles'' (1948)
* ''La Chute des corps'' (Les Grandes Familles, II, 1950)
* ''Rendez-vous aux enfers'' (Les Grandes Familles, III, 1951)
* ''Remarques'' (1952)
* ''Un voyageur, comédie en un acte, au répertoire de la Comédie française'' (1953)
* ''Le Coup de grâce, mélodrame en trois actes'' (with Joseph Kessel, 1953)
* ''La Volupté d’être, roman'' (1954)
* ''La Reine étranglée'' (Les Rois maudits, II, 1955)
* ''Le Roi de fer (Les Rois maudits, I, 1955)
* ''Les Poisons de la couronne'' (Les Rois maudits, III, 1956)
* ''L'Hôtel de Mondez, nouvelle'' (1956)
* ''La Loi des mâles'' (Les Rois maudits, IV, 1957)
* ''Tistou les pouces verts'' (1957)
* ''Alexandre le Grand'' (1958)
* ''La Louve de France'' (Les Rois maudits, V, 1959)
* ''Le Lis et le lion'' (Les Rois maudits, VI, 1960)
* ''Des Seigneurs de la plaine à l’hôtel de Mondez'' (1962 — Short story collection)
* ''Théâtre'' — ''Mégarée'', ''Un voyageur'', ''La Contessa'' (1962)
* ''Les Mémoires de Zeus'' (1963)
* ''Bernard Buffet, essai'' (1964 — Essay)
* ''Paris, de César à Saint Louis'' (1964 — Historical essay)
* ''Le Pouvoir, notes et maximes'' (1965)
* ''Les Tambours de la mémoire'' (1965)
* ''Les Rois maudits, roman historique'' (6 volumes, 1966)
* ''Les Mémoires de Zeus, II, roman historique'' (1967)
* ''Le Bonheur des uns, nouvelles'' (1967)
* ''Vézelay, colline éternelle'' (1968)
* ''L'Avenir en désarroi, essai'' (1968)
* ''Grandeur et signification de Leningrad'' (1968)
* ''Lettres d’un Européen et Nouvelles Lettres d’un Européen, 1943–1970'' (1970 — essay)
* ''Splendeur provençale'' (1970)
* ''Une Église qui se trompe de siècle'' (1972)
* ''La Parole et le Pouvoir'' (1974)
* ''Œuvres complètes'' (25 volumes with unpublished material, 1977)
* ''Quand un roi perd la France'' (Les Rois maudits, VII, 1977)
* ''Attention la France !'' (1981)
* ''Réformer la démocratie'' (1982)
* ''La Culture et l’État'' (1985)
* ''Vézelay, colline éternelle, nouvelle édition'' (1987)
* ''Lettre aux Français sur leur langue et leur âme'' (1994)
* ''Circonstances'' (1997)
* ''Circonstances politiques, 1954–1974'' (1998)
* ''Le bon français'' (1999)
* ''Circonstances politiques II, 1974–1998'' (1999)
* ''La France aux ordres d’un cadavre'' (2000)
* ''Ordonnances pour un État malade'' (2002)
* ''Le Franc-parler'' (2003)
* ''Mémoires. L'aurore vient du fond du ciel'' (2006)
* ''Les mémoires de Zeus'' (2007)
Honours
* Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
* Commander of the
Order of Arts and Letters
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
* Knight Grand Cross in the
Order of the Aztec Eagle
The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country.
History
It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 ...
Military Order of Christ
The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910 it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was ...
* Knight officer in the
Order of May
The Order of May (in Spanish: ''Orden de Mayo'') is an order of merit and one of the highest decorations in Argentina. The order is named after the May Revolution which led to the birth of the Republic of Argentina. It was founded as the Order ...
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
(USA) and the
University of Tirana
The University of Tirana ( sq, Universiteti i Tiranës, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the ''State University of Tirana'' in 1957 through merging of f ...
(Albania)
*
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...
(''The Rise of Simon Lachaume'', 1948)
* Literary Award of the Foundation of Prince Pierre de Monaco (for lifetime achievement, 1966)
* Prix Saint-Simon (''Circumstances'', 1998)
* Prize Agrippa d'Aubigné (''The Good French'', 2000)
*
Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...
, 1993 (Russia)
*
Gallery
File:Виктор Черномырдин и Морис Дрюон в Оренбурге. 2003 год..jpg, Maurice Druon in Orenburg in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
in 2003.
File:Виктор Черномырдин, Морис Дрюон, Александр Стручков..jpg, Maurice Druon in Orenburg, 2003.
File:Морис Дрюон с супругой Мадлен в Оренбурге. 2003 год..jpg, Maurice Druon in Orenburg, 2003.