The famous novelist Andre Morois is recognized as an unsurpassed author of biographies. But the literary activity of the French writer is very rich and versatile. He authored biographical novels and psychological novels, love novels and travel essays, philosophical essays and science fiction stories. But no matter what genre his books belong to, the harmony of the language of the writer Morois, clarity of thought, perfection of style, subtle irony and a fascinating narrative will captivate readers forever.
Writer Biography
Emil Erzog, known to readers under the name Andre Morois, was born in a family of industrialists in Normandy, near Rouen, in 1885. Father was the owner of a textile factory, where he later worked as an administrator and Andre himself. The writer's childhood was serene: wealthy parents, a close-knit family, respect and attention from adults. Later, the author wrote that this was what formed in him tolerance for the opinions of others, a sense of personal and civic duty.
As a child, he read a lot. His love for Russian writers, which did not fade until the last days of his life, is especially noted. He began to write for the first time at the Rouen Lyceum, where he studied since 1897. Among the teachers of the future writer Morois was the philosopher Alain, who had a significant impact on the worldview of the young man. Having received a degree in law, Andre nevertheless preferred to study the family business, which he had been doing for about ten years. After the death of his father, Morois refused to conduct a family business and devoted himself entirely to a literary career.
Years of war
During World War I, the French writer Morois served as a liaison officer, after which he worked in the editorial office of the Croix de Feux magazine. Morois participated in the French Resistance and at the beginning of World War II he served in the French army. Thanks to the connections of his second wife, in particular to Marshal PĂ©tain, in 1938, Morois was elected chairman of the prestigious French Academy and occupied this chair for almost thirty years.
After the Nazi occupation of France, he moved with his family to the United States, returning to his native country in 1946. In 1947, the writer legalized his pseudonym. He died in 1967 in a suburb of Paris and was buried in the cemetery of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Personal life
In 1909, in Geneva, writer Andre Morois met the daughter of the Polish count Jeanne Shimkevich, who became his first wife and mother of his two sons and daughter Michelle. The daughter became a writer, her pen belongs to the trilogy, which was based on many family letters. In 1918, Janine, the wife of the writer, suffered a nervous breakdown, and in 1924 she died of sepsis.
In the autumn of the same year, after the publication of the book Dialogues sur le commandement, he was invited to dinner by Marshal Peten. Here, the writer meets Simone de Kailavet, daughter of the playwright Gaston Arman and granddaughter of Madame Arman, the hostess of the fashionable literary salon and muse of the writer Anatole France. The wedding of Simone and Andre took place in 1926.
Literary heritage
The French writer Andre Morois left a rich literary heritage. Despite the fact that he began to write quite early, he published his short stories only in 1935. Morois collected them in the book "First Stories." This also included the short story “The Birth of a Celebrity,” written by the writer in 1919. The difference between the half-children's stories and this short story is striking.
He published his first book, The Silence of Colonel Bramble, which was based on his recollections of the First World War in 1918. Morois was very demanding of himself, this partly explains the success that brought his first novel. It is difficult to name a genre to which the writer would remain indifferent. Among his legacy are historical studies, romanized biographies, sociological essays, novels for children, psychological novels and literary essays.
Books by Andre Morois
The memoirs and experience gained in World War I formed the basis of two books by the writer Morois: “The Silence of Colonel Bramble,” published in 1918, and “The Speech of Dr. O'Grady,” which saw the light in 1921. In the postwar years, the writer creates psychological novels:
- in 1926, Bernard Quesnay was published;
- in 1928 published "The vicissitudes of love";
- in 1932 the Family Circle saw the light;
- in 1934 - “Letters to a Stranger”;
- in 1946 - a collection of short stories "The Promised Land";
- in 1956 - “September Roses”.
The writer’s pen belongs to the trilogy of the life of English romantics, which later came out under the general title “Romantic England”. It included: the book Ariel published in 1923, in 1927 and 1930, Life of Disraeli and Byron respectively came out. Literary portraits of French writers comprised four books:
- 1964 - From Labruyere to Proust;
- 1963 - From Proust to Camus;
- 1965 - From Jew to Sartre;
- 1967 - "From Aragon to Monterlan."
A master of the biographical genre, Morois is the author of books about great people, in which, based on accurate biographical data, he draws their living images:
- 1930 - Byron;
- 1931 - "Turgenev";
- 1935 - Voltaire;
- 1937 - "Edward VII";
- 1938 - "Chateaubriand";
- 1949 - Marcel Proust;
- 1952 - “George Sand”;
- 1955 - Victor Hugo;
- 1957 - The Three Dumas;
- 1959 - “Alexander Fleming”;
- 1961 - “The Life of Madame de Lafayette”;
- 1965 - Balzac.
The writer Morois is the author of scientific and journalistic books: this is The History of England, published in 1937, the History of the United States was published in 1943, and The History of France in 1947. The writer's creative heritage is huge: he owns more than two hundred books and thousands of articles. The collected works of the writer were published in the early 50s in sixteen volumes.
The undisputed quality of Andre Morois as a writer is a refined psychologism, which is clearly manifested in his works. I would like to end the article with his words, which sound like a covenant to contemporaries: “An artist must make such an incomprehensible real world understandable. Readers look for high spiritual values ​​and new powers in books. Our duty is to help the reader see HUMAN in every person. ”