Olivier Séchan (January 14, 1911 – July 7, 2006) was a French writer best known for his children’s books. He was born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

and died 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 ...

at the age of 95. He was the son of

Louis Séchan Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

and brother of

Edmond Séchan Edmond Séchan (20 September 1919 in Montpellier – 7 June 2002 in Courbevoie) was a French cinematographer and film director. Biography Passionate about image, Séchan earned a reputation as an excellent director of photography and is credit ...

Life and work

His father Louis Séchan was a professor at the Sorbonne. His mother Isabelle Bost was the granddaughter of a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

pastor. He was born in Montpellier where he spent the first twenty years of his life. Moving to Paris, he taught German in the 1930s. During the 1930s, he was a member of the leftist “Groupe Brunet,” which included

Claude Cahun Claude Cahun (, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob; 25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954) was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portra ...

and Jean Legrand. In 1939, he published his first novel ''Les eaux mortes'' which was considered "too American". Eight more novels followed, including ''Les corps ont soif'' which won the

Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots () is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt. The name derives ...

in 1942. He also won the Prix du Roman d'Aventures in 1951 for his humorous crime novel ''Vous qui n'avez jamais été tués'', written with his friend

Igor Maslowski Igor may refer to: * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name Arts, entertainment, and media *Igor (character), a stock character *Igors (Discworld), Igors (''Discworld''), a fictional humanoid family in ...

. Several of his novels are set in the Cevennes region. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he ran for a while the

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...

radio station Radio Paris. He became a director at the publishing firm

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette Livre, a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachette Fil ...

. He began writing children's books that were published in the famous ''Bibliothèque rose'' and ''Bibliothèque verte'' series. He created the recurring characters Luc and Martine, and translated many of the Jennings novels of

Anthony Buckeridge Anthony Malcolm Buckeridge (20 June 1912 – 28 June 2004) was an English author, best known for his ''Jennings'' and '' Rex Milligan'' series of children's books. He also wrote the 1953 children's book ''A Funny Thing Happened'' which was ser ...

. His work for young readers proved very popular. Séchan spoke fluent English, German and Dutch. He had a wife and six children, among them the novelist

Thierry Séchan Thierry Séchan (19 September 1949 – 9 January 2019) was a French journalist and writer. Biography Séchan was the older brother of French singer Renaud, and the son of writer Olivier Séchan. Séchan wrote lyrics for many singers, includi ...

and the famous singer Renaud Séchan, known simply throughout France as

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (; born 11 May 1952 in Paris), known as Renaud, is a French singer-songwriter. With twenty-six albums to his credit, selling nearly twenty million copies, he is one of France's most popular singers. Several of h ...

. He was buried in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sechan, Olivier Writers from Montpellier 1911 births 2006 deaths 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists French crime fiction writers French children's writers French male short story writers French short story writers French male novelists Prix des Deux Magots winners 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers French Protestants