''Will O' the Wisp'' () is a 1931 novel by the French writer

Pierre Drieu La Rochelle Pierre Eugène Drieu La Rochelle (; 3 January 1893 – 15 March 1945) was a French writer of novels, short stories, and political essays. He was born, lived and died in Paris. Drieu La Rochelle became a proponent of French fascism in the 1930 ...

. It has also been published in English as ''The Fire Within''. It tells the story of a 30-year-old man who after military service, followed by a few years of cosmopolitan, decadent life, has become burned out, addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and tired of living. The author's source of inspiration for the main character was the

dadaist Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

poet

Jacques Rigaut Jacques Rigaut (; 30 December 1898 – 9 November 1929) was a French surrealist poet. Born in Paris, he was part of the Dadaist movement. His works frequently talked about suicide and he came to regard its successful completion as his occupation. ...

(1898–1929). The novel has been the basis for two feature films,

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made document ...

's ''

The Fire Within ''The Fire Within'' (, ; "The Manic Fire" or "Will-O'-the-Wisp") is a 1963 drama film written and directed by Louis Malle. It is based on the 1931 novel ''Will O' the Wisp'' by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, which was inspired by the life of poet ...

'' from 1963 and

Joachim Trier Joachim Trier () (born 1 March 1974) is a Danish-born Norwegian filmmaker. His films have been described as "Melancholia, melancholy meditations concerned with existential questions of love, ambition, memory, and identity (social science), ident ...

's ''

Oslo, August 31st ''Oslo, August 31st'' () is a 2011 Norwegian drama film directed by Joachim Trier. It is the second film, along with ''Reprise'' (2006) and '' The Worst Person in the World'' (2021), in Trier's Oslo trilogy. The film is a homage to, and loosely b ...

'' from 2011.

Plot

Alain Leroy is 30 years old. He served in

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 ...

and has led a cosmopolitan, decadent life for a few years, before being admitted to a mental institution for depression, fatigue and

addiction. He is unable to adapt to the regulated life of the institution, but the doctor does not think his stay needs to be extended. Alain visits several old friends in Paris. He is presented with several opportunities to return to a regular life, but is unable to find any satisfying human connection, and other people have a hard time sympathising with his situation. Alain returns to his room at the hospital where he commits suicide.

Publication

The book was published by

éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

in 1931. It was published in English in 1965, translated by

Richard Howard Richard Joseph Howard (October 13, 1929 – March 31, 2022), adopted as Richard Joseph Orwitz, was an American poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a graduate of Columbia University, ...

under the title ''The Fire Within''. A translation by Martin Robinson was published in 1966 as ''Will O' the Wisp''. In 2012 the novel was published in Gallimard's

Bibliothèque de la Pléiade The ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'' (, "Pleiades Library") is a French editorial collection which was created in 1931 by Jacques Schiffrin, an independent young editor. Schiffrin wanted to provide the public with reference editions of the ...

series, as part of the volume ''Romans, récits, nouvelles''. A new English language translation was published in 2021 by Rogue Scholar Press as ''Ghost Light''.

Reception

Anna Balakian of '' The Saturday Review'' wrote in 1965 that "Drieu manages an unsentimentalized objectivity in picturing the futile machinations of Alain's wasted mind Balakian continued: "Alain's nocturnal meanderings through the great, unresponsive city are illumined here and there by some erotic encounters. Thus the book is primarily a mood piece in which night prevails; as such it will be understood by the dispirited of any age and by those who watch with anguish the likes of Alain seeking the tunnel of narcotic release from which there is no exit. Although vaguely drawn, Alain is less dated as a type than many a humanistic figure projected by better known writers of the 1930s." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' described the novel as "piquant, perverse, and rather sterile", and wrote: "La Rochelle handles this with a certain boutique decadence and a tired resignation (the novel is subtitled 'autobiographical') which is true to the experience ... but perhaps self-defeating to the book."

Adaptations

The book was adapted for film by

as ''

'', starring

Maurice Ronet Maurice Ronet (; 13 April 1927 – 14 March 1983) was a French film actor, director, and writer. Early life Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes. He was the only child of professional stage actors Émile ...

and released in 1963. It was also the basis for the 2011 Norwegian film ''

'', directed by

References

External links

Publicity page
at

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Will O the Wisp 1931 French novels French novels adapted into films French-language novels Novels about drugs Novels by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle Novels set in Paris Novels about suicide NYRB Classics