Gilbert Sinoué (born 18 February 1947 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt) is a classically trained guitarist and author who has lived in France since the age of 19. He has won major French literary awards for his books, which are written in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. Many of his historical novels have become bestsellers.

Early life and education

At age 19, after studying at a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

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in Cairo, Sinoué went to France to study at the national music conservatory in

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 ...

. He became skilled in classical guitar. He later taught

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

to others and started writing.

Career

In 1987, at about age 40, he published his first novel, ''La Pourpre et l’olivier, ou Calixte 1er le pape oublié'' (The Crimson and the Olive Tree, or Calixte I the Forgotten Pope). It earned the ''Jean d’Heurs'' prize for best historical novel. In 1989, he published ''Avicenne ou La route d' Ispahan'', relating the life of

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

, the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

doctor, philosopher and scientist. His novels and other books span a variety of genres. Sinoué's third novel ''The Egyptian'' is the first of a saga set in Egypt of the 18th and 19th centuries. Published in 1991, this novel won the literary prize ''Quartier latin''. In the biography ''L'ambassadrice'' (2002), Sinoué relates the life of

Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, beco ...

. In 2004 his thriller ''Les Silences de Dieu'' (The Silences of God) won ''le Grand prix de littérature policière'' (Grand Prize for Mystery/Detective Literature). Gilbert Sinoué quickly established himself as an engaging storyteller and master of a variety of genres. His biography, ''The last phar'aoh'', depicts the battle of Mehmet Ali, the pacha, with the

Ottoman empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In the thriller ''Le Livre de Saphir'' (''The Sapphire Book''), the narrator converses with God. In addition to writing books, Gilbert Sinoué is a scriptwriter and screenwriter.

Bibliography

*''La pourpre et l'olivier'' (The Crimson and the Olive Tree), novel, 1987 *''Avicenne ou la route d'Ispahan'' (''Avicenna or the Road to Ispahan''), novel, 1989 - Based on diaries of Abu Ubaid al-Juzjani, the famous pupil of Sheykh *''L'égyptienne'' (''The Egyptian''), novel, 1991 *''La fille du Nil'' (''The Daughter of the Nile River''), novel, 1993 *''Le livre de saphir'' (''The Sapphire Book'', novel, 1996 *''Le dernier pharaon'' (''The Last Pharaoh''), biography, 1997 *''L'enfant de Bruges'' (''The Child of Bruges''), novel 1999 *''A mon fils, à l'aube du Troisième Millénaire'' (''To My Son, at the Dawn of the Third Millennium''), 2000 *''Le livre des sagesses d'Orient'' (The Book of the Wise Men), 2000 *''Des jours et des nuits'', (''Days and Nights''), novel, 2001 *''L'ambassadrice'' (The Ambassadress), biography, 2002 *''Akhenaton, le dieu maudit'' (Akhenaton, the Cursed God), 2003 *''Les silences de Dieu'' (The Silences of God), 2004 *''Un bateau pour l'enfer'' (A Ship for Hell), 2005 *''La reine crucifiée'' (The Crucified Queen), 2005 *''Le colonel et l'enfant-roi'' (The Colonel and the Royal Child), 2006 *''Moi, Jésus'' (I, Jesus), 2007 *''La Dame à la Lampe'' (The Lady of the Lamp), 2008 *''Erevan, ou Armenie: Le Grand Roman d'un Peuple'' (Erevan, or Armenia: Great Novel of a People) 2009 * ''Le royaume des Deux-Mers'' (The Kingdom of Two Seas), 2018 (Note: translation of books' titles may not be 100% accurate)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinoue, Gilbert 1947 births Living people Writers from Cairo 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists French crime fiction writers French historical novelists Prix des libraires winners French male novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers