Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (24 September 1878 – 23 May 1947) was a
French-speaking
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
writer.
Biography

He was born in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
in the canton of
Vaud
Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...
and was educated at the
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...
. He taught briefly in nearby
Aubonne, and then in
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
, Germany. In 1903, he left for
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and remained there until
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, with frequent trips home to Switzerland. As part of his studies in Paris he wrote a thesis on the poet
Maurice de Guérin.
In 1903, he published ''Le petit village'', a collection of poems.
In 1914, he returned to Switzerland.
He wrote the libretto for
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
's ''
Histoire du soldat''.
He died in
Pully
Pully () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron District, Lavaux-Oron. It is one of the eastern suburbs of the city of Lausanne, located on the shores ...
, near Lausanne in 1947.
His likeness and an artistic impression of his works appear on the 200
Swiss franc
The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...
note (no longer in current use).
The Foundation C.F. Ramuz in Pully awards the
Grand Prix C. F. Ramuz.
Works
*''Le petit village'' (1903)
*''Aline'' (1905)
*''Jean-Luc persécuté'' (1909)
*''Aimé Pache, peintre vaudois'' (1911)
*''Vie de Samuel Belet'' (1913)
*''Raison d'être'' (1914)
*''La Guerre dans le Haut Pays'' (1915)
*''Le règne de l'esprit malin'' (1917) / ''The Reign of the Evil One'', translated by James Whitall (
Onesuch Press, 2014)
*''La guérison des malades'' (1917)
*''Les signes parmi nous'' (1919)
*''Salutation paysanne'' (1919)
*''Terre du ciel'' (1921)
*''Présence de la mort'' (1922) / ''The End of All Men'', translated by Allan Ross Macdougall (Pantheon Books Inc., 1944)
*''La séparation des races'' (1922)
*''Passage du poète'' (1923)
*''L'amour du monde'' (1925)
* ''Chant de notre Rhône.''(1920) / ''Riversong of the Rhone'', translated by Patti M. Marxsen (Onesuch Press, 2015)
*''La grande peur dans la montagne'' (1926) / ''Terror on the Mountain'', translated by Milton Stansbury (Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967) / ''Great Fear on the Mountain'', translated by Bill Johnston (Archipelago Books, 2024)
* ''La beauté sur la terre'' (1927) / ''Beauty on Earth'', translated by Michelle Bailat-Jones (Onesuch Press, 2014)
*''Adam et Eve'' (1932)
*''Farinet, ou la fausse monnaie'' (1932)
*''
Derborence'' (1934) / ''When the Mountain Fell'', translated by Sarah Fisher Scott (Pantheon Books, 1947)
*''Questions'' (1935)
*''Le garçon savoyard'' (1936)
*''Taille de l'homme'' (1937)
*''Besoin de grandeur'' (1937)
* ''Si le soleil ne revenait pas...'' (1937) / ''What If the Sun...'', translated by Michelle Bailat-Jones (Onesuch Press, 2015)
*''Paris, notes d'un vaudois'' (1938)
*''Découverte du monde'' (1939)
*''La guerre aux papiers'' (1942)
*''René Auberjonois'' (1943)
*''Nouvelles'' (1944)
Film adaptations
Ramuz's 1922 novel ''La séparation des races'' was adapted into the 1933 film ''Rapt'' by director
Dimitri Kirsanoff. The film, shot on location in Switzerland, starred
Geymond Vital. The Swiss writer
S. Corinna Bille was a script editor on the film, after which she moved to Paris with Vital and married him. The movie is best known for the musical score by
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...
.
In 1998, Swiss director
Francis Reusser adapted Ramuz's 1915 novel into a film titled ''
War in the Highlands'', starring French actress
Marion Cotillard.
Personal Life
Ramuz married Cecile Cellier, a Swiss Painter, in 1913 after she became pregnant with their only child, Marianne.
He had one grandson, Guido Olivieri b.1940.
Legacy
His life and literary work are presented in a museum in his former home, La Muette, in
Pully
Pully () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron District, Lavaux-Oron. It is one of the eastern suburbs of the city of Lausanne, located on the shores ...
, Switzerland.
Awards
*1927
Prix Gottfried Keller
See also
*
Swiss literature
As there is no dominant national language, the Languages of Switzerland, four main languages of French language, French, Italian language, Italian, German language, German and Romansh language, Romansh form the four branches which make up a l ...
Notes and references
External links
Charles Ferdinand Ramuz in the
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse; DHS) is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. It aims to present the history of Switzerland in the form of an encyclopaedia, published both on paper a ...
.
*
Biography of C.F. RamuzFrench eds. of seven feature film adaptationsof novels by Ramuz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramuz, Charles-Ferdinand
1878 births
1947 deaths
Writers from Lausanne
Swiss writers
University of Lausanne alumni
Swiss male novelists
Swiss writers in French