Pierre Herbart (23 May 1903 – 2 August 1974) was a French novelist, essayist, and journalist.

Biography

Pierre Herbart was born in 1903 into a family of the

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. this improbable father (he was not his biological father), left a deep mark in the young Herbart. The young Pierre Herbart grew up in Malo-les-Bains and attended the Jean-Bart college where he was a good student. In 1920, at the age of seventeen, recommended by his grandfather, Herbart landed a job in an electricity company, Thomson Houston, 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 ...

. He stayed there for two years before being incorporated, number 1816, into Lyautey's troops in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in 1923. In 1924 he finally met

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

, whom he greatly admired. They were introduced by Raoul Leven. They were very close until his meeting with André Gide, by chance in May 1929: in Roquebrune where he was invited by Jean Cocteau and Jean Desbordes in a house loaned by

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...

. On 15 September 1931, Herbart married

Élisabeth van Rysselberghe Élisabeth van Rysselberghe (15 October 1890 – 29 July 1980) was a Belgian translator. She was the daughter of Belgian painter Théo van Rysselberghe. Biography Élisabeth van Rysselberghe was born on 15 October 1890 in Brussels, Belgium. She w ...

(from whom Gide had had a daughter,

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, in 1923) in Lavandou. She was the daughter of his friends, the painter

Théo van Rysselberghe Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. Biography Early years Born i ...

and his wife Maria (nicknamed the "Little Lady"). Elisabeth was thirteen years his senior. André Gide took care of the publication of his first novel, ''Le Rôdeur'' (written in the summer of 1929) at Gallimard, while the couple moved to

Cabris Cabris is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. The ...

. His stance against colonialism attracted him the sympathy of the French Communists that he joined within the PCF. In 1933 he was sent to Spain for a report by ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

''. On his return, he finished writing ''Contre-ordre'' and signed a contract with Gallimard, submitting his manuscript on 14 December. He left from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, in the USSR on 6 December 1935. He took over from

Paul Nizan Paul-Yves Nizan (; 7 February 1905 – 23 May 1940) was a French philosopher and writer. He was born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire and studied in Paris where he befriended fellow student Jean-Paul Sartre at the Lycée Henri IV. He became a member of t ...

at the head of ''Littérature Internationale''. When World War II broke out, Herbart helped organize a committee formed for passive defense work (digging trenches, shelters, etc.). In 1943, under the name of General Le Vigan, he participated in the establishment of a network in the southwest of France, which helped young men to flee the STO (''

Service du Travail Obligatoire The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II. The STO was created under law ...

'') and, member of the Resistance Defense network of France, he participated in the creation of the eponymous newspaper ''

Défense de la France ''Défense de la France'' was an underground newspaper produced by a group of the French Resistance during World War II. Essentially developed in the Northern Zone, ''Défense de la France'' distinguishes itself by an activity centered on the ...

'', which would become ''France-Soir''. Finally, following the arrest and the execution of the person in charge for the movement in Brittany, Maurice Prestant, he was put in charge in 1944 with the regional direction. Having been appointed vice-president of the city liberation committee, he organized the liberation of

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

(he obtained from the Americans the cessation of unnecessary bombardments on the city), arrested the prefect in place, installed his successor and the Commissioner of the Republic, and was responsible for preventing abuses and the settling of accounts. At the Liberation,

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

invited him to participate in ''

Combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

''. At the same time, he completed the writing of ''Alcyon'' (1945), and helped Camus write a first screenplay for '' The Plague''. He participated in the creation of a weekly, with

Claude Bourdet Claude Bourdet (28 October 1909 – 20 March 1996) was a writer, journalist, polemist, and militant French politician. Peronal life Bourdet was a son of the dramatic author Édouard Bourdet and the poet Catherine Pozzi, was born and died in Par ...

and

Jacques Baumel Jacques Baumel (6 March 1918 – 17 February 2006) was a French politician. He was born on 6 March 1918 in Marseille and died on 17 February 2006 in Rueil-Malmaison. He was a French resistance fighter (under the aliases "Saint-Just", "Berneix" ...

of the magazine ''

Terre des Hommes Terre des hommes, also Terre des Hommes (''Land of People'' or ''Land of Men''), is an international children's rights charitable humanitarian umbrella organization under the aegis of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes (TDHIF), wit ...

'' in which Gide, Henri Calet,

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his 19 ...

, Prévert, Nadeau, Jean-Pierre Giraudoux, and

Henri Michaux Henri Michaux (; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim ...

participated, but whose publication was stopped after twenty-three numbers. He also collaborated in the writing of different screenplays (''Isabelle'' by André Gide, ''

The Thibaults ''The Thibaults'' () is a multi-volume ''roman-fleuve'' (French, novel sequence) by Roger Martin du Gard, which follows the fortunes of two brothers, Antoine and Jacques Thibault, from their upbringing in a prosperous Catholic bourgeois family to ...

'' by Roger Martin du Gard). From 13 December 1946 to 26 April 1947, he was sent to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

for a report on North Africa's

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, whose first article made the front page of ''

France-Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

'' in 1947 under the title ''S.O.S. Afrique du Nord''. There was a second article as well as a third which was not published. On 19 November 1949, Herbart's brother died of tetanus, followed in 1951 by André Gide. He thus lost, in two years, two relatives as well as two financial supporters. For Gallimard, he wrote a small vitriolic portrait of André Gide, ''À la recherche d’André Gide'', published in 1952, and which would attract the wrath of admirers and certain close friends of Gide, to whom he was "related" by his union with Élisabeth van Rysselberghe. He moved to Roger Martin du Gard in Tertre and wrote '' L’Âge d’or'', a novel in which he evoked the (mostly homosexual) loves of his youth. In 1953, his mother died of cancer. He made several trips with his wife and wrote a book on his political career, ''La Ligne de force'' (which would be released in 1958). The same year, Roger Martin du Gard died. Gallimard instructed him to put the deceased's papers in order with a view to publication, without this succeeding. He was still financially supported by Christiane Martin du Gard, who lodged him in an apartment in rue du Dragon when he had to leave André Gide's old apartment, on rue Vaneau, when he separated from his wife in 1959 (they divorced in 1968). Finishing off a screenplay of ''Alcyon'', he then began writing a new novel, ''La Licorne'', which appeared in 1964. He occasionally contributed to various literary reviews and published, in 1968, ''Souvenirs imaginaires''; then a collection of short stories, ''Histoires confidential'', in 1970. Weakened, in a more than precarious financial situation, he was the victim of an attack of hemiplegia and died in Grasse on 8 in August 1974. First buried in the mass grave, he was eventually buried in

Homages

in the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le septième''. The arrondissement, ca ...

, the district in which the writer resided, is named after him. This alley is the central artery of , near

Le Bon Marché Le Bon Marché (lit. "the good market", or "the good deal" in French; ) is a department store in Paris. Founded in 1838 and revamped almost completely by Aristide Boucicaut in 1852, it was one of the first modern department stores. It was ...

, in proximity of his Parisian home.

Work

Novels

* ''Le Rôdeur'', Paris, Gallimard, 1931 * ''Contre-ordre'', Paris, Gallimard, 1935 * ''Alcyon'', Paris, Gallimard, 1945 * ''L’Âge d’or'', Paris, Gallimard, 1953 * ''La Licorne'', Paris, Gallimard, 1964

Collections of short stories

* ''Souvenirs imaginaires'', Paris, Gallimard, 1968 * ''Histoires confidentielles'', Paris, Grasset, 1970, re-edited 2014

Essays

* ''Le Chancre du Niger'', Paris, Gallimard, 1939 * ''À la recherche d’André Gide'', Paris, Gallimard, 1952 * ''Textes retrouvés'', Paris, Le Promeneur, 1999 (published under the title ''Inédits'' with Tout sur le tout, 1981) * ''On demande des déclassés'', Paris, Le Promeneur, 2000

Memoirs

* ''En U.R.S.S., 1936'', Paris, Gallimard, 1937 * '' La Ligne de force'', Paris, Gallimard, 1958

Journalism

*Collaboration with ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'' *Collaboration with '' Vendredi'' *Collaboration with ''

'' *Collaboration with ''

'' between 1947 and 1948

Bibliography

* Patrick Mauriès, preface of ''Souvenirs imaginaires'', Paris, Le Promeneur, 1998 * Paul Renard, ''Pierre Herbart, romancier, autobiographe et journaliste'', ''Roman 20 - 50'', Special issue n° 3, 2006, 90 p. * Philippe Berthier, ''Pierre Herbart, morale et style de la désinvolture'', Centre d’études gidiennes, 1998. * Sylvie Patron, « Pierre Herbart ou la vie ironique », ''Critique'', n° 624, May 1999. * Bernard Desportes, « L'Insouci de soi », ''Ralentir travaux'', n° 12, November 1998, . * Maurice Nadeau, « Une certaine attitude », ''Ralentir travaux'', n° 12, November 1998, . * —, « Herbart à ''Combat'' et beaucoup plus tard », ''Ralentir travaux'', n° 12, November 1998, . * Béatrix Beck, « Le charmeur charmé », ''Ralentir travaux'', n° 12, November 1998, . * Jean-Luc Moreau, « Le goût, ''amer'', de l'éternel », ''Ralentir travaux'', n° 12, November 1998, . * Henri Thomas, « Le goût de l'éternel », novel (in which Pierre Herbart is one of the characters) Paris, Gallimard, 1990 * Hervé Ferrage, ''Henri Thomas et ses contemporains'', in : Patrice Bougon & Marc Dambre, ''Henri Thomas, l'écriture du secret'', Seyssel, Champ Vallon, 2007 * Christophe Caulier, ''Littérature et engagement : quelle articulation ? (André Gide, Pierre Herbart et Paul Nizan)'', doctoral thesis defended at Paris-Diderot, December 2008 * Pierre Lecœur, « Libération de l'autre, libération de soi, la question coloniale dans l’œuvre de Pierre Herbart », ''Aden'', n°8, October 2009 * Jean-Luc Moreau, ''Pierre Herbart, l'orgueil du dépouillement'', Paris, Grasset, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbart, Pierre 1903 births 1974 deaths 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French journalists People from Dunkirk Writers from Nord (French department)