Maurice Larrouy (9 June 1882 – 18 July 1939, in

Meung-sur-Loire Meung-sur-Loire () is a commune in the Loiret department, north-central France. It was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire in 1429. Geography Meung-sur-Loire lies 15 km to the west of Orléans on the north bank of the river Loire at ...

) was a French marine officer and writer. 321px, Robert Burnier, both left and René Milan in hat. In the foreground, Marie-Louise Casadesus and Nina Myral.

Biography

The son of a commissioner general of the Navy, Larrouy was received major at the École Navale in 1901, became a naval officer in 1903, patented interpreter of English in 1911, ship lieutenant in 1913, and patented pilot of airship. After he resigned in 1919 to devote himself to literature, he was promoted to the rank of reserve captain of corvette (1926) then captain of frigate. An officier of the

Légion d’honneur 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 B ...

and holder of the

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

, he married in the

2nd arrondissement of Paris The 2nd arrondissement of Paris (''IIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''deuxième'' (second/the second). It is governed locally ...

Denise Decori on 20 December 1916, the daughter of (1860–1915), a lawyer, secretary general of the Presidency of the Republic (1914), in the presence of president

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (, ; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected deputy in 1 ...

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the introduction (in Jul ...

Alfred Capus Alfred Capus (25 November 18581 November 1922) was a French journalist and playwright, who was born in Aix-en-Provence and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Biography Son of a lawyer from Marseille, Alfred Capus went to university in Toulon. After fail ...

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 ...

, witnesses of the bride, and , his best man. At the beginning of the 20th century he published maritime and exotic novels, some of which were somewhat successful such as ''L'Odyssée d'un transport torpillé'' (

Prix Femina 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 ...

1917) or ''Coup de roulis''. These books were written in the spirit of other naval officers, like

Pierre Loti Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica El ...

Claude Farrère Claude Farrère, pseudonym of Frédéric-Charles Bargone (27 April 1876, in Lyon – 21 June 1957, in Paris), was a French Navy officer and writer. Many of his novels are based in exotic locations such as Istanbul, Saigon, or Nagasaki. One of ...

or Paul Chack. He presented himself at the Académie française on 24 May 1934 and obtained 2 votes against 9 to

Edmond Jaloux Edmond Jaloux (19 June 1878, Marseille – 22 August 1949, Lutry) was a French novelist, essayist, and critic. His works tended to be set in Paris or his native Provence. He was interested in German Romanticism and English writers. In 1936 h ...

and 24 to

Maurice de Broglie __NOTOC__ Louis-César-Victor-Maurice, 6th duc de Broglie (27 April 1875 – 14 July 1960) was a French physicist. Brother of the theoretical physicist, Louis de Broglie. Biography Early years De Broglie was born in Paris, to Victor de Brogli ...

, who was elected. He was vice-president of the

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

. The first edition of some novels indicates the pseudonym ''René Milan'' or the letter "Y". Bibliophiles know that he signed a large number of copies of the print run of the original edition of his books.

Works

*1912: ''La race immortelle, roman épique'', under the pseudonym René Milan *1915: ''Les Vagabonds de la gloire'' (prix Davaine; prix de la Ligue maritime française 1916), first published under the pseudonym René Milan and then reissued under his real name. **I - Campagne d'un croiseur **II - Trois étapes **III - Matelots aériens *1917: ''L'Odyssée d'un transport torpillé'', Éditions Payot, (

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 ...

). Maurice Larrouy wrote this story in four weeks. The publication appeared anonymously in episodes in the "Revue de Paris" in 1917, in the middle of the world conflict. The publisher did not submit the first part to censorship, but the following part was truncated and the third part, deemed dangerous, formally prohibited, the author recounting daily life on board a ship in the form of letters or diary aboard a merchant navy of refueling. *1921: ''Raphaël Gatouna, Français d'occasion'' *1923: ''Gatouna et l'Amour'' *1924: ''Le Révolté'', a maritime novel that inspired a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

in 1938 *1925: ''Coups de roulis'', a novel of which

Albert Willemetz Albert Willemetz (14 February 1887 – 7 October 1964) was a French libretto, librettist. Career Albert Willemetz was a prolific lyricist. He invented a new type of musical, with a humorous and "sexy" style. He was the author of more than 3000 ...

drew inspiration in 1928 for the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

composed by

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

*1926: ''La caravane sur l'Atlantique'' *1926: ''Leurs Petites majestés'', Indochinese novel. The novel tells in a rather light way the embarkation and the cruise on the adviso ''Roncevaux'' of a king of the kingdom of Sikar (Indochina peninsula), his majesty Pharnavong, his prime minister Prince Ploum, his first mandarin Bang and his three younger wives. The arrival of this little world on a ship of war, however small, considerably disrupts the life of the Pacha, the lieutenant of Kerquibec, and his two officers, ensigns Goyenne, second officer, and Quintard, not to mention the crew ... *1927: ''Le marin'' *1927: ''Sirènes et tritons, le roman du sous-marin'' *1928: ''Trop de Bonheur'' *1928: ''Le Trident'' *1930: ''Les sept sacrements, roman d'un marin'' *1931: ''Eaux brûlantes'', Paris, is a narrative of travel from France to Indochina. The first chapter relates the life aboard the steamer André-Lebon during the few weeks of transit. The book then describes French Indochina during the colonial exhibition, in a very "colonially correct" genre. It nevertheless offers a good testimony on this great colony at the time of the apogee of the biggest France. A few pages are devoted to the attempted record air link France-Far East by

Joseph Le Brix Joseph Le Brix (22 February 1899 - 12 September 1931) was a French aviator and a ''capitaine de corvette'' (lieutenant commander) in the French Navy. He is best known for an around-the-world flight he made as copilot and navigator in 1927-1928 wh ...

. He also devotes a chapter to Java. *1933: ''Le cargo tragique'', Paris *1933: ''La vénus standard'', Paris *1934: ''Eaux glacées'', Paris, travel history in Manchuria, Japan, Canada and the United States. *1934: ''L’Invincible Armada'' *1936: ''Arches de discorde'' *1937: ''La grande fraude'', Paris

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Maurice Larrouy
on Babelio
''Le Révolté''
on Ancre de Marine
Maurice Larrouy (René Milan)
on ''Histoire de la littérature maritime'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Larrouy, Maurice 20th-century French non-fiction writers Prix Femina winners Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 1882 births 1939 deaths