Georges Bordonove (25 May 1920,

Enghien-les-Bains Enghien-les-Bains () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the département of Val-d'Oise. Enghien-les-Bains is famous as a spa resort and a well-to-do suburb of Paris, developed in ...

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Antony, Hauts-de-Seine Antony () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Antony is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the arrondissement of Antony. Watered by the Bièvre, a tributary of the ...

) was a French biographer and novelist.

Biography

Bordonove was a prolific writer of both books on history for a general readership and historical novels. His biographies, such as those of the kings of France, are characterised by short, dense chapters packed with detail including a potentially bewildering array of names and the citation of recorded conversations, sometimes in

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

with translations, but showing an evident sympathy for the subject, a desire to make a complete picture of his life and thought, and some sly humour. However, his 1980s series ''Les Rois qui ont fait la France'' (The Kings who Made France) has been called "more hagiographic than strictly historical". In his obituary in ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', Philippe-Jean Catinchi wrote: "Despite his vision rarely conforming to the state of historical research, the public approved" and noted that he also contributed to a historical survey of everyday life.''

'', 20 March 2007: "Malgré une vision rarement conforme à l'état de la recherche historique, le public est au rendez-vous ... On signalera encore ses contributions à une autre collection grand public, d'une rigueur scientifique aléatoire au fil des décennies, ''La Vie quotidienne''." He was a member of the sustaining committee of the royalist Association Unité capétienne (

Capetian The Capetian dynasty (; french: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Ca ...

Unity Society) and of the jury awarding its Hugues-Capet Prize. He is buried in the cemetery of Le Château-d'Oléron on the island of

Oléron The Isle of Oléron or Oléron Island (french: île d'Oléron, ; Saintongese: ''ilâte d'Olerun''; oc, illa d'Olairon or ; la, Uliarus insula, ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort), on the southern side of the ...

Honours

* Officier (Officer) 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 ...

* Award from the Académie française for novel ''Les Quatre Cavaliers'' and historical study ''Les Marins de l'An II'' *

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 history for ''Le Naufrage de 'La Méduse * Grand prix des libraires (Booksellers' award)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordonove, Georges 1920 births 2007 deaths People from Enghien-les-Bains 20th-century French novelists French biographers 20th-century French male writers Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century biographers French male essayists French male novelists 20th-century French essayists Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) Prix des libraires winners Male biographers