''Under the Sun of Satan'' () is

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...

's first published novel, appearing in 1926 in Paris. According to Michel Estève, the novel draws on three primary inspirations: the life of the curate

Jean-Marie Vianney John Vianney (born Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney; 8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859), venerated as Saint John Vianney, was a French Catholic priest who is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as the patron saint of parish priests. He is oft ...

, which informs the character Donissan; the writers

Léon Bloy Léon Bloy (; 11 July 1846 – 3 November 1917) was a French Catholic novelist, essayist, pamphleteer (or lampoonist), and satirist, known additionally for his eventual (and passionate) defense of Catholicism and for his influence within French C ...

and

Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anythin ...

, from whom Bernanos takes the idea of a world deprived of God and the idea of a union of reality and the supernatural, respectively; and the social climate of France after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, which Bernanos vocally decried.Bernanos, ''Œuvres romanesques'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Gallimard 1961 . It is listed #45 on ''Le Monde'''s 100 Books of the Century.

Adaptations

Television

* ''Sous le soleil de Satan'', téléfilm by

Pierre Cardinal Pierre Cardinal (8 June 1924 – 16 May 1998) was a French screenwriter and director. His sister was author Marie Cardinal. He directed the 1983 mini series ''Bel Ami ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy ...

(1971) with

Maurice Garrel Maurice Garrel (24 February 1923 – 4 June 2011) was a French film actor. Garrel was born in Saint-Servais, Isère. He appeared in over a hundred films and was nominated twice for a César Award for best supporting actor: in 1991 for ''La ...

and

Catherine Salviat 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 ...

Cinema

* '' Sous le soleil de Satan'', film de

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

(1987) with

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 alm ...

and

Sandrine Bonnaire Sandrine Bonnaire (; born 31 May 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter who has appeared in more than 40 films. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for '' À Nos Amours'' (1983), the César Award for Best Actre ...

. The film won the

Palme d'or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

Festival de Cannes 1987 A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival con ...

References

External links

Under the Sun of Satan
on

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{{Authority control 1926 French novels French-language novels French novels adapted into films Novels by Georges Bernanos 1926 debut novels