Françoise Sagan (; born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
characters. Her best-known novel was her first, ''
Bonjour Tristesse'' (1954), which was written when she was a teenager.
Biography
Early life
Sagan was born on 21 June 1935 in
Cajarc,
Lot, and spent her early childhood in Lot, surrounded by animals, a passion that stayed with her throughout her life. Nicknamed 'Kiki', she was the youngest child of bourgeois parents – her father a company director, and her mother the daughter of landowners.
Her family spent World War II (1939–1945) in the
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...
, then in the
Vercors. Her paternal great-grandmother was Russian from Saint Petersburg. The family had a home in the prosperous
17th arrondissement of Paris, to which they returned after the war.
Sagan was expelled from her first school, a convent, for "lack of deep spirituality". She was expelled from the
Louise-de-Bettignies School because she had "hanged a bust of
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
with a piece of string".
She obtained her baccalauréat on the second attempt, at the
cours Hattemer, and was admitted to the
Sorbonne in the fall of 1952.
She was an indifferent student, and did not graduate.
Career
During a literary career lasting until 1998, Sagan produced dozens of works, many of which have been filmed. She took the pseudonym "Sagan" from a character () in
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...
's ''À la recherche du temps perdu'' (''
In Search of Lost Time
''In Search of Lost Time'' (), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French author Marcel Proust. This early twen ...
''). Sagan's first novel, ''
Bonjour Tristesse'' (''Hello Sadness''), was published in 1954, when she was 18 years old. It was an immediate international success. The novel concerns the life of a pleasure-driven 17-year-old named Cécile and her relationship with her boyfriend and her widowed playboy father.
Sagan maintained the austere style of the French
psychological novel, even while the ''
nouveau roman
The Nouveau Roman (, "new novel") is a type of French novel in the 1950s and 60s that diverged from traditional literary genres. Émile Henriot coined the term in an article in the popular French newspaper ''Le Monde'' on May 22, 1957 to describ ...
'' was in vogue. The conversations between her characters are often considered to contain
existential undertones. In an interview in 1960, she said her main themes were "solitude and love."
In his study of Sagan’s cultural impact, French scholar, Flavien Falantin traces the links between Sagan and existentialism and its most-noted philosopher,
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...
.
Though never his disciple, in a chapter titled “Love Letter to Jean-Paul Sartre” in her memoir, ''With Fondest Regards'', Sagan recounts how important the philosopher’s writings were to her when she was young. Sagan became friendly with Sartre and included a moment in her second novel, ''A Certain Smile'', when the narrator “threw herself” into Sartre’s “very beautiful book, ''The Age of Reason''.” Sartre returned the compliment: her writing was “innovative” and expressed “something new, drawn from her own experience.” Her success, he felt, was “justified.”
In addition to novels, plays, and an autobiography, she wrote song lyrics and screenplays. In the 1960s, Sagan became more devoted to writing plays, which, though lauded for excellent dialogue, were only moderately successful. Afterward, she concentrated on her career as a novelist.
In 1960, at the height of the
Algerian war
The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
, she signed the
Manifesto of the 121
The Manifesto of the 121 (), was an open letter signed by 121 intellectuals and published on 6 September 1960 in the magazine ''Vérité-Liberté''. It called on the French government, then headed by the Gaullist Michel Debré, and public opi ...
. In retaliation, the extreme right-wing terrorist organization
OAS planted a bomb at her parents' home on August 23, 1961, but the explosion caused only material damage.
Personal life

Sagan was married twice. On 13 March 1958, she married her first husband, Guy Schoeller, an editor with
Hachette, who was 20 years older than Sagan. The couple
divorced in June, 1960. In 1962, she married Bob Westhoff, a young American playboy and would-be
ceramicist. The couple divorced in 1963; their son Denis Westhoff was born in June 1962. She then had a long-term relationship with fashion stylist
Peggy Roche. She also had a male lover,
Bernard Frank, a married essayist and began a long-term affair with the French ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' editor
Annick Geille, after Geille approached Sagan for an article for her magazine.
Fond of traveling in the United States, Sagan often was seen with
Truman Capote
Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...
and
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...
. On 14 April 1957, while driving her
Aston Martin sports car at speed, she was involved in an accident that left her in a coma for some time. During her recovery she became dependent on the pain medication she was prescribed, a topic she wrote about in her nonfiction work, ''Toxique''. She also loved driving her
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
automobile to
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
for gambling sessions.
In the 1990s, Sagan was charged with and convicted of possession of
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
.
In 2010, her son Denis established the
Prix Françoise Sagan.
Death
Sagan’s health was reported to be poor in the 2000s. In 2002, she was unable to appear at a trial in which she was convicted of
tax fraud
Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trust (property), trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax au ...
in a case involving the former French President
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
and she received a suspended sentence. Sagan died of a
pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...
in
Honfleur, Calvados on 24 September 2004 at the age of 69. At her own request she was buried in Seuzac (Lot), close to her beloved birthplace, Cajarc.
In his memorial statement, the French President
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
said: "With her death, France loses one of its most brilliant and sensitive writers – an eminent figure of our literary life."
She wrote her own
obituary
An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
for the ''Dictionary of Authors'' compiled by
Jérôme Garcin: "Appeared in 1954 with a slender novel, ''Bonjour tristesse'', which created a scandal worldwide. Her death, after a life and a body of work that were equally pleasant and botched, was a scandal only for herself."
Film
Sagan's life was dramatized in a
biographical film, ''
Sagan'', directed by
Diane Kurys
Diane Kurys (; born 3 December 1948) is a French director, producer, filmmaker and actress. Several of her films as director are semi-autobiographical.
Personal life
Kurys was born in Lyon, Rhône, France, the younger of two daughters. She is a ...
, released in France on 11 June 2008. The French actress
Sylvie Testud played the title role.
Works
Novels
*''
Bonjour tristesse'' (1954, translated twice with the same title: by Irene Ash, 1955; and by Heather Lloyd, 2013)
:The British edition of Ash's translation (
John Murray) contained many small cuts and alterations to Sagan's text. Some of these were restored and rectified in the U.S. edition (
E. P. Dutton). Lloyd's translation is unexpurgated.
[Heather Lloyd, "Translator's note" to Françoise Sagan, ''Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2013).]
*''Un certain sourire'' (1955, translated three times as ''
A Certain Smile'': by
Anne Green into
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
, 1956; by Irene Ash into
British English
British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...
, 1956; and by Heather Lloyd, 2013)
:Dissatisfied with Ash's translation of ''Bonjour tristesse'', the costs of which it shared with John Murray, E. P. Dutton ended the collaboration and turned to the Paris-based American writer Anne Green, who produced a "pacey" and "somewhat less coy"
translation of Sagan's second novel for the U.S. market. Ash's translation of ''Un certain sourire'' again suffered from cuts and alterations, although these were less extensive than those to ''Bonjour tristesse''. Lloyd's translation is unexpurgated.
*''Dans un mois, dans un an'' (1957, translated twice as ''Those Without Shadows'': into American English by
Frances Frenaye, 1957; and into British English by Irene Ash, 1957)
:The second and last of Sagan's novels to appear in separate British and U.S. translations.
*''
Aimez-vous Brahms?'' (1959, translated by Peter Wiles with the same title, 1960)
:With ''Aimez-vous Brahms?'' John Murray and E. P. Dutton resumed their collaboration, minus Irene Ash and with Dutton initially choosing the translator. All of Sagan's work from this point was introduced to anglophone readers in a common transatlantic translation, localised for the British and U.S. markets as necessary, whether from these publishers or others.
*''Les Merveilleux Nuages'' (1961, translated by
Anne Green as ''Wonderful Clouds'', 1961)
*''
La Chamade'' (1965, translated by Robert Westhoff with the same title, 1966; and by
Douglas Hofstadter
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born 15 February 1945) is an American cognitive and computer scientist whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, analogy-making, Strange loop, strange ...
as ''That Mad Ache'', 2009)
*''Le Garde du cœur'' (1968, translated by Robert Westhoff as ''The Heart-Keeper'', 1968)
*''Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide'' (1969, translated by Joanna Kilmartin as ''Sunlight on Cold Water'', 1971; the American English version appeared as ''A Few Hours of Sunlight'', 1971, credited to
Terence Kilmartin)
*''Des bleus à l'âme'' (1972, translated by Joanna Kilmartin as ''Scars on the Soul'', 1974)
*''Un profil perdu'' (1974, translated by Joanna Kilmartin as ''Lost Profile'', 1976)
*''Le Lit défait'' (1977, translated by Abigail Israel as ''The Unmade Bed'', 1978)
*''Le Chien couchant'' (1980, translated by C. J. Richards as ''Salad Days'' in the U.S., 1984; and as ''Le Chien couchant'' in the UK, 1985)
*''La Femme fardée'' (1981, translated by Lee Fahnestock as ''The Painted Lady'', 1983)
*''Un orage immobile'' (1983, translated by Christine Donougher as ''The Still Storm'', 1984; American English version, 1986)
*''De guerre lasse'' (1985, translated by Christine Donougher as ''Engagements of the Heart'' in the UK and as ''A Reluctant Hero'' in the U.S., both 1987)
*''Un sang d'aquarelle'' (1987, translated by Anthea Bell as ''Painting in Blood'', 1991)
*''La Laisse'' (1989, translated by Christine Donougher as ''The Leash'', 1991)
*''Les Faux-fuyants'' (1991, translated by Elfreda Powell as ''Evasion'', 1993)
*''Un chagrin de passage'' (1994, translated by
Richard Seaver as ''A Fleeting Sorrow'', 1995)
*''Le Miroir égaré'' (1996)
*''Les Quatre coins du coeur'' (2019, translated by Sophie R. Lewis as ''The Four Corners of the Heart'', 2023)
Short story collections
*''Des yeux de soie'' (1975, translated by Joanna Kilmartin as ''Silken Eyes'', 1977)
*''Musiques de scène'' (1981, translated by C. J. Richards as ''Incidental Music'', 1983)
*''La maison de Raquel Vega'' (1985)
Plays
*''Château en Suède'' (1960, translated by
Lucienne Hill as ''Castle in Sweden'', 1962)
*''Les Violons parfois'' (1961)
*''La Robe mauve de Valentine'' (1963)
*''Bonheur, impair et passe'' (1964)
*''L'Écharde'' (1966)
*''Le Cheval évanoui'' (1966)
*''Un piano dans l'herbe'' (1970)
*''Il fait beau jour et nuit'' (1978)
*''L'Excès contraire'' (1987)
Ballet
*''Le Rendezvous Manqué'' (1958)
Autobiographical works
*''Toxique'' (1964, journal, translated by
Frances Frenaye with the same title, 1965)
*''Réponses'' (1975, translated by David Macey as ''Night Bird: Conversations with Françoise Sagan'', 1980)
*''Avec mon meilleur souvenir'' (1984, translated by Christine Donougher as ''With Fondest Regards'', 1985)
*''Au marbre: chroniques retrovées 1952–1962'' (1988, chronicles)
*''Répliques'' (1992, interviews)
*''...Et toute ma sympathie'' (1993, a sequel to ''Avec mon meilleur souvenir'')
*''Derrière l'épaule'' (1998, autobiography)
Published posthumously by
L'Herne:
*''Bonjour New-York'' (2007)
*''Un certain regard'' (2008, compilation of material from ''Réponses'' and ''Répliques'')
*''Maisons louées'' (2008)
*''Le Régal des chacals'' (2008)
*''Au cinéma'' (2008)
*''De très bons livres'' (2008)
*''La Petite Robe noire'' (2008)
*''Lettre de Suisse'' (2008)
Biographical works
*''Brigitte Bardot'' (1975)
*''Sarah Bernhardt, ou le rire incassable'' (1987, translated by Sabine Destrée as ''Dear Sarah Bernhardt'', 1988)
Screenwriter
*''
Landru'', directed by
Claude Chabrol
Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...
(1963)
*''
The Ball of Count Orgel'', directed by
Marc Allégret
Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director.
Biography
Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...
(1970)
*''Les Borgia ou le Sang doré'', directed by Alain Dhénaut (1977)
*''
The Blue Ferns'', directed by Françoise Sagan (1977, TV film)
Selected screen adaptations of Sagan's work
*''
Bonjour Tristesse'', directed by
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...
(1958, based on the novel ''
Bonjour Tristesse'')
*''
A Certain Smile'', directed by
Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco (born Ioan Negulescu; – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian Americans, Romanian-American film director and screenwriter.Oliver, Myrna"Jean Negulesco 1900–1993 ''The Los Angeles Times'', 22 July 1993. He first gained notice for his Fi ...
(1958, based on the novel ''
A Certain Smile'')
*''
Love Play'', directed by François Moreuil and Fabien Collin (1961, based on the short story ''La Récréation'')
*''
Goodbye Again'', directed by
Anatole Litvak
Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), commonly known as Anatole Litvak, was a Russian-American filmmaker.
Born to Jewish parents in Kiev, he began his theatrical training at age 13 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, ...
(1961, based on the novel ''
Aimez-vous Brahms?'')
*''
Nutty, Naughty Chateau'', directed by
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director, and producer, as well as an author, artist, and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, s ...
(1963, based on the play ''Château en Suède'')
*''
La Chamade'', directed by
Alain Cavalier (1968, based on the novel ''
La Chamade'')
*''
Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide'', directed by
Jacques Deray
Jacques Deray (born Jacques Desrayaud, 19 February 1929 – 9 August 2003) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime films, crime and thriller films.
Biography
Born Jacques Desrayaud in Lyon, ...
(1971, based on the novel ''Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide'')
* ''
The Blue Ferns'', directed by Françoise Sagan (1977, TV film, based on the short story ''Des yeux de soie'')
*''
Bonheur, impair et passe'', directed by Roger Vadim (1977, TV film, based on the play ''Bonheur, impair et passe'')
*', directed by
Robert Enrico (1987, based on the novel ''De guerre lasse'')
*', directed by
José Pinheiro (1990, based on the novel ''La Femme fardée'')
*', directed by
Josée Dayan
Josée Dayan (born 6 October 1943 in Toulouse, France) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.
Life
Dayan grew up in Algiers, Algeria, where her father Albert Dagnant, who came from a Jewish family, worked as a television direc ...
(2008, TV film, based on the play ''Château en Suède'')
*''
Bonjour Tristesse'', directed by
Durga Chew-Bose (2024, based on the novel ''
Bonjour Tristesse'')
References
External links
*
Jean-Louis de Rambures, interview with F. Sagan (in French) in: "Comment travaillent les écrivains", Paris 1978
Litweb.net*
French press bids farewell; BBC article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagan, Francoise
1935 births
2004 deaths
People from Lot (department)
Deaths from pulmonary embolism
French women novelists
French women screenwriters
20th-century French screenwriters
French people of Russian descent
Bisexual screenwriters
French women dramatists and playwrights
Bisexual women writers
French bisexual women
French bisexual writers
French LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights
French LGBTQ novelists
French women short story writers
French short story writers
French women biographers
Bisexual novelists
20th-century French novelists
20th-century French dramatists and playwrights
20th-century French women writers
Bisexual dramatists and playwrights
20th-century French biographers
20th-century French short story writers
20th-century French LGBTQ people
21st-century French LGBTQ people
Signatories of the 1971 Manifesto of the 343