Maurice Druon | |
|---|---|
 Druon in 2003 | |
| Born | (1918-04-23)23 April 1918 Paris, France |
| Died | 14 April 2009(2009-04-14) (aged 90) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | French |
| Period | 1942–2009 |
| Notable awards | • Grand CrossLegion of Honour • Ordre des Arts et des Lettres • Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire • Prix Goncourt • Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France |
| Spouse | |
| Minister of Culture | |
| In office 5 April 1973 – 27 February 1974 | |
| President | Georges Pompidou |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Messmer |
| Preceded by | Jacques Duhamel |
| Succeeded by | Alain Peyrefitte |
| Member of theNational Assembly for Paris's 22nd constituency | |
| In office 3 April 1978 – 22 May 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Bernard Lafay [fr] |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Pons |
Maurice Druon (French pronunciation:[mɔʁisdʁyɔ̃]; 23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a Frenchnovelist and a member of theAcadémie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999.
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Born inParis, France, Druon was the son of Russian-Jewish[1] immigrant Lazare Kessel (1899–1920)[2] and was brought up atLa Croix-Saint-Leufroy in Normandy and educated at the lycée Michelet de Vanves. His father committed suicide in 1920[2] and his mother remarried in 1926; Maurice subsequently took the name of his adoptive father, the lawyer René Druon (1874–1961).
He was the nephew of the writerJoseph Kessel, with whom he translated the "Chant des Partisans", aFrench Resistance anthem ofWorld War II, with music and words (in Russian) originally byAnna Marly. Druon was a member of the Resistance and came to London in 1943 to participate in the BBC's "Honneur et Patrie" programme.[3]
Druon began writing for literary journals at the age of 18. In September 1939, having been called up for military service, he wrote an article forParis-Soir entitled "J'ai vingt ans et je pars (I am twenty years old and I am leaving)".[4] Following the fall of France in 1940, he was demobilized and remained in the unoccupied zone of France, and his first play,Mégarée, was produced in Monte Carlo in February 1942. He left the same year to join the forces ofCharles de Gaulle. Druon became aide de camp to GeneralFrançois d'Astier de La Vigerie.
In 1948 Druon received thePrix Goncourt for his novelLes Grandes Familles [fr], and later published two sequels.[5][6][7]
Druon was elected to the 30th seat of the Académie française on 8 December 1966,[8] succeedingGeorges Duhamel. He was elected as "Perpetual Secretary" in 1985, but chose to resign the office in late 1999 due to old age; he successfully pushed forHélène Carrère d'Encausse to succeed him, the first woman to hold the post, and was styled Honorary Perpetual Secretary after 2000. On the death ofHenri Troyat on 2 March 2007, he became the Dean of theAcadémie, its longest-serving member.
While his scholarly writing earned him a seat at the Académie, Druon is best known for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1950s under the titleLes Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings). The novels wereadapted for French television in 1972, gaining a wider audience through overseas sales, and again in 2005, starringJeanne Moreau. Fantasy writerGeorge R. R. Martin stated that the novels had been an inspiration for his fantasy seriesA Song of Ice and Fire, and called Druon "France's best historical novelist sinceAlexandre Dumas,père".[9][10][11]
Druon's only work for children –Tistou les pouces verts – was published in 1957 and translated intoEnglish in 1958 (asTistou of the Green Thumbs) and 2012 (asTistou: The Boy With Green Thumbs).[12]
Druon wasMinister of Cultural Affairs (1973–1974)[13] inPierre Messmer's cabinet, and a deputy of Paris (1978–1981). He was survived by his second wife, Madeleine Marignac, whom he married in 1968.[2] Madeleine Druon died in 2016 aged 91.[14]Druon was a descendant of Brazilian authorOdorico Mendes [pt].
The titles from the individualScribner English editions as published in the United States are given below, as well as the literal English translations of the original French titles.
| # | French title | Year | Translation | Scribner title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Roi de fer | 1955 | "The King of Iron" | The Iron King |
| 2 | La Reine étranglée | 1955 | "The Strangled Queen" | The Strangled Queen |
| 3 | Les Poisons de la couronne | 1956 | "The Poisons of the Crown" | The Poisoned Crown |
| 4 | La Loi des mâles | 1957 | "The Law of Males" | The Royal Succession |
| 5 | La Louve de France | 1959 | "The She-Wolf of France" | The She-Wolf of France |
| 6 | Le Lys et le lion | 1960 | "The Lily and the Lion" | The Lily and the Lion |
| 7 | Quand un Roi perd la France | 1977 | "When a King Loses France" | The King Without a Kingdom |
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