Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active
monarchist
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
, and a member of the
Académie Goncourt
The Société littéraire des Goncourt (, ''Goncourt Literary Society''), usually called the Académie Goncourt (, Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in Paris. It was founded in 1882 by the French writer and publisher Edmo ...
.
Move to the right
Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist
Alphonse Daudet, his mother was
Julia Daudet and his younger brother,
Lucien Daudet, would also become an artist. He was educated at the
Lycée Louis le Grand, and afterwards studied medicine, a profession which he abandoned. Léon Daudet married
Jeanne Hugo, the granddaughter of
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
, in 1891 and thus entered into the higher social and intellectual circles of the
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
. He divorced his wife in 1895 and became a vocal critic of the Republic, the
Dreyfusard camp, and of democracy in general.
Together with
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...
(who remained a lifelong friend), he co-founded (1907) and was an editor of the nationalist,
integralist periodical ''
L'Action Française''. A
deputy from 1919 to 1924, he failed to win election as a
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
in 1927 – despite having gained prominence as the voice of the monarchists. When Maurras was released from prison after serving a sentence for verbally attacking Prime Minister
Léon Blum, Daudet joined other political leaders
Xavier Vallat,
Darquier de Pellepoix, and
Philippe Henriot to welcome him in the
Vel' d'Hiv in July 1937.
Scandals and later life
When his son
Philippe was discovered fatally shot in 1923, Daudet accused the republican authorities of complicity with
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
activists in what he believed to be a murder, and lost a lawsuit for
defamation
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
brought against him by the driver of the taxi in which Philippe's body was found. That same year,
Germaine Berton carried out an assassination against fellow ''
Action Française
''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...
'' writer
Marius Plateau. Daudet was also a target of this assassination but was not present at the time of the shooting.
Condemned to five months in prison, Daudet fled and was exiled in Belgium, receiving a
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
in 1930. In 1934, during the
Stavisky Affair, he was to denounce Prime Minister
Camille Chautemps
Camille Chautemps (; 1 February 1885 – 1 July 1963) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister).
He was the father-in-law of U.S. politician and statesman Howar ...
, calling him the "leader of a gang of robbers and assassins". He also showed particular detestation for the subsequent Prime Minister
Léon Blum, candidate of a coalition of socialists and other parties of the left.
A supporter of the
Vichy administration headed by
Marshal Pétain
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...
, Léon Daudet died in
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; "Saint-Rémy of Provence"; Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department ...
.
Works
Novels
''Les Morticoles''(1894).
* ''Le Voyage de Shakespeare'' (1896).
''Suzanne''(1896).
''Sébastien Gouvès''(1899).
* ''Les Deux Étreintes'' (1901).
''Le Partage de l'Enfant''(1905).
''La Mésentente''(1911).
* ''Le Lit de Procuste'' (1912).
* ''Le Cœur et l'Absence'' (1917).
''Dans la Lumière''(1919).
* ''L'Amour est un Songe'' (1920).
''L'Entremetteuse''(1921).
* ''Le Napus, Fléau de l'an 2227'' (1927).
* ''Les Bacchantes'' (1931).
* ''Un Amour de Rabelais'' (1933).
* ''Médée'' (1935).
Essays
''L'Avant-guerre''(1915).
''Contre l'Esprit Allemand de Kant à Krupp''(1915).
''L'Hérédo, Essai sur le Drame Intérieur''(1916).
''La Guerre Totale''(1918).
''Le Poignard Dans le Dos: Notes sur l'Affaire Malvy''(1918).
''Le Monde des Images: Suite de L'Hérédo''(1919).
''Le Stupide XIXe Siècle''(1922).
''Notre Provence''(with
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...
, 1933).
Pamphlets
* ''Le Nain de Lorraine - Raymond Poincaré'' (1930).
* ''Le Garde des Seaux - Louis Barthou'' (1930).
* ''Le Voyou De Passage - Aristide Briand'' (1930).
Miscellany
* ''Alphonse Daudet'' (1898).
* ''Souvenirs des Milieux Littéraires, Politiques, Artistiques et Médicaux'' (1914–1921):
*
''Fantômes et Vivants''(1914).
*
''Devant la Douleur''(1915).
*
''L'Entre-Deux-Guerres''(1915).
** ''Salons et Journaux'' (1917).
** ''Au Temps de Judas'' (1920).
*
''Vers le Roi''(1921).
* ''La Pluie de Sang'' (1932).
* ''Député de Paris'' (1933).
* ''Paris Vécu'':
** ''Rive Droite'' (1929).
** ''Rive Gauche'' (1930).
* ''Quand Vivait mon Père'' (1940).
Works in English translation
''Alphonse Daudet''(1898).
* ''Memoirs of Léon Daudet'' (1925).
* ''The Stupid Nineteenth Century'' (1928).
* ''Cloudy Trophy; the Romance of Victor Hugo'' (1938).
* ''The Tragic Life of Victor Hugo'' (1939).
* ''Clemenceau; a Stormy Life'' (1940).
* ''The Napus: The Great Plague of the Year 2227'' (translated, annotated and introduced by
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...
, 2013).
* ''The Bacchantes: A Dionysian Scientific Romance'' (translated, annotated and introduced by
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...
, 2013).
Selected articles
* "The Overthrow of German Military Prestige," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 302 (1919).
* "The Stupid Nineteenth Century," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 312 (1922).
* "Sulla and His Destiny," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 315 (1922).
* "Maeterlinck's Book on Ants," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 339 (1930).
* "My Father Alphonse," ''The Living Age'', Vol. 339 (1930).
References
Further reading
* Alden, Douglas William (1940)
''Marcel Proust and his French Critics.''Los Angeles (CA): Lymanhouse.
*
Bertaut, Jules (1906)
"Léon Daudet."In: ''Chroniqueurs et Polémistes''. Paris: E. Sansot, pp. 255–274.
* Bertaut, Jules (1936)
''Paris 1870–1935.''New York: D. Appleton Company.
* Buell, Raymond Leslie (1920)
''Contemporary French Politics.''New York: D. Appleton and Company.
* Chassaigne, J. Coudurier de (1917)
"Léon Daudet: A Prophet in France,"''Land & Water'', Vol. LXIX, No. 2887, pp. 9–10.
* Griggs, Arthur Kingsland (1925). ''Memoirs of Leon Daudet.'' New York: The Dial Press.
* Guillou, Robert (1918). ''Leon Daudet, son Caractère, ses Romans, sa Politique.'' Paris: Société d'Éditions Levé.
* Kershaw, Alister (1988). ''An Introduction to Léon Daudet, with Selections from His Writings''. Francestown, New Hampshire: Typographeum Press .
* Leeds, Stanton B. (1940)
"Daudet and Reaction."In: ''These Rule France.'' Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, pp. 236–247.
* MacMahon, A. (1912)
"Catholic Ideals in Modern French Fiction,"''The American Catholic Quarterly Review,'' Vol. 37, pp. 697–717.
* Muret, Charlotte (1933)
''French Royalist Doctrines since the Revolution.''New York (NY): Columbia University Press.
* Scheifley, W.H. (1921)
"Léon Daudet, Defender of Church and State,"''The Catholic World'', Vol. CXII, pp. 157–170.
* Weber, Eugen (1962). ''Action Française: Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth-Century France''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press .
External links
*
Works by Léon Daudet at
Hathi Trust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...
Works by Léon Daudet at
Europeana
Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...
Works by Léon Daudet at
Gallica
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daudet, Leon
1867 births
1942 deaths
Journalists from Paris
Writers from Paris
Politicians from Paris
Daudet family
Members of the Ligue de la patrie française
People affiliated with Action Française
Independent Right (France) politicians
Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of Parliament for Seine
20th-century French journalists
French biographers
French memoirists
French monarchists
Antisemitism in France
19th-century French novelists
20th-century French novelists
French male novelists
19th-century French male writers
20th-century French male writers
French male non-fiction writers
Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni
People associated with the Dreyfus affair
French collaborators with Nazi Germany
Recipients of French presidential pardons