Michel del Castillo (a.k.a. Michel Janicot del Castillo) born in 1933 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

is a French writer.

Biography

Michel del Castillo was born in Madrid. His father, Michel Janicot, was French and his mother, Cándida Isabel del Castillo, Spanish. Interned in the

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

Rieucros Rieucros (; oc, Riucròs) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Population Inhabitants are called ''Rieucrosains''. See also *Communes of the Ariège department The following is a list of the 327 Communes of Fra ...

in Mende with his mother during the

Second World War 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 ...

,Biography of Michel Del Castillo on Britannica.com
he developed a sense of belonging to this town, which has honored him by naming a school after him. He first studied politics and psychology, then turned to literature. Influenced by

Miguel de Unamuno Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. His major philosophical essay w ...

and

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

, his books received many literary prizes, namely Prix Chateaubriand for ''Le Silence des Pierres'' (1975); Renaudot for ''La nuit du Décret'' (1981); Prix Maurice Genevoix for ''Rue des Archives'' (1994); Prix de l’Écrit Intime for ''Mon frère l’Idiot'' (1995); and

Prix Femina essai The prix Femina essai is a French literary prize awarded to an essay. Established in 1999, it replaced the prix Femina Vacaresco.Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique The Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique - Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium - or ARLLFB is a Belgian institution which brings together personalities who, through their works, writings, le ...

, succeeding to

Georges Duby Georges Duby (7 October 1919 – 3 December 1996) was a French historian who specialised in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. He ranks among the most influential medieval historians of the twentieth century and was one of Franc ...

.(fr) Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique, Michel Del Castill

Aside from travelling, he is very keen on classical music, and considered at some point making a career as a pianist.

Bibliography

* ''Tanguy'' (A Child of Our Time) (1957) * ''La Guitare'' (1958) * ''Le Colleur d’affiches'' (The Disinherited) (1959) * ''Le manège espagnol'' (1960) * ''Tara'' (1962) * ''Gérardo Laïn'' (1967) English translation, "The Seminarian" (1969) * ''Les écrous de la haine'' (1968), essay * ''Le Vent de la Nuit'' (1973), Prix des Libraires and

Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt. The name derives from ...

* ''Le silence des pierres'' (1975), Prix Chateaubriand * ''Le sortilège espagnol'' (1977) * ''Les cyprès meurent en Italie'' (1979) * ''La Nuit du décret'' (1981),

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 ...

* ''La gloire de Dina'' (1984) * ''La halte et le chemin'' (1985) * ''Seville'' (1986) * ''Le démon de l'oubli'' (1987) * ''Mort d'un poète'' (1989) * ''Une femme en soi'' (1991), Prix du Levant * ''Andalousie'' (1991) * ''Le crime des pères'' (1993),

Grand prix RTL-Lire The grand prix RTL-''Lire'' is one of the main literary awards of the winter/spring literary season in France. Given in partnership with Lire magazine, it rewards a French-language novel chosen by a jury of readers. History In 1992, the grand pr ...

* ''Carlos Pradal'' (1993), co-written with Yves Belaubre * ''Rue des Archives'' (1994),

Prix Maurice Genevoix The Prix Maurice Genevoix (''Le prix Maurice Genevoix'') is an annual French literary award made in honor of its namesake Maurice Genevoix (1890–1980). It is intended to recognize a French literary work which, by its topic or style, honors the m ...

* ''Mon frère l’Idiot'' (1995), Prix de l’écrit intime * ''Le sortilège espagnol : les officiants de la mort'' (1996) * ''La tunique d'infamie'' (1997) * ''De père français'' (1998) * ''Colette, une certaine France'' (1999),

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 ...

* ''L’Adieu au siècle, journal de l'année 1999'' (2000) * ''Droit d’auteur'' (2000), pamphlet * ''Les étoiles froides'' (2001) * ''Colette en voyage'' (2002) * ''Une répétition'' (2002), a play on Jean Sénac * ''Algérie, l’extase et le sang'' (2002), essay * ''Les portes du sang'' (2003) * ''Le Jour du destin'' (2003), play * ''Sortie des artistes'' (2004) * ''Dictionnaire amoureux de L’Espagne'' (2005),

Prix Méditerranée The Prix Méditerranée (Mediterranean Prize) is a French literary award. It was created in 1984 in Perpignan by the Mediterranean Centre of Literature (CML) in order to promote cultural interaction among the numerous countries surrounding the Medi ...

* ''La mémoire de Grenade'' (2005), play * ''La Religieuse de Madrigal'' (2006), novel * ''La Vie mentie'' (2007), novel * ''Le Temps de Franco'' (2008), narration.

References

Interview by Emmanuel Davidenkoff ("Les Enfants de la Musique") on France Musique", Saturday December 18, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Michel Del 1933 births Living people Writers from Madrid 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French novelists 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 21st-century French dramatists and playwrights Prix Renaudot winners Prix des Deux Magots winners Prix Maurice Genevoix winners Prix Femina essai winners Prix des libraires winners Spanish emigrants to France French male novelists 21st-century French male writers