Tristan Bernard

Tristan Bernard (September 7, 1866 – December 7, 1947) was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer.

Born Paul Bernard into a Jewish family in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté, France, the son of an architect. He left Besançon at the age of 14, moving with his father to Paris, where he studied at the Lycée Condorcet, which was noted for its numerous literary alumni.

He studied law, but after his military service, he started his career as the manager of an aluminium smelter. He also managed a velodrome. After his first publication in "La Revue Blanche" in 1891, he turned his talents increasingly to writing and adopted his pseudonym of "Tristan". His first play, "Les Pieds Nickelés" ("Nickel-plated Feet"), was a great success and set the tone for his later work: humorous and generally light. He found the greatest fame writing for vaudeville, which was a very popular genre in France at the time. He also wrote several novels and tried his hand at poetry.

Bernard is chiefly remembered for his highly quotable witticisms, particularly from his play "Les Jumeaux de Brighton" ("The Brighton Twins").

In 1932, he was a candidate for the Académie Française, but was not elected, receiving only 2 votes out of 39.

He was interned during World War II at the Drancy deportation camp. When Gestapo agents were at his door he turned to his wife that was crying and said "Don´t cry. we were living in fear, but from now on we will live in hope"

Public outcry at his imprisonment brought about his release in 1943. He died in Paris four years later of the results of his internment and was buried in Passy cemetery. The Théâtre Tristan Bernard in Paris is named in his honor.

His sons have achieved some level of notoriety. His son, Raymond Bernard became an influential French filmmaker (using as scripts, a number of works penned by his father) while , Jean-Jacques Bernard, published a memoir of his father in 1955 titled "Mon père Tristan Bernard" ("My Father, Tristan Bernard"). Tristan Bernard's grandson Christian Bernard is the current Imperator of the Rosicrucian organization AMORC.

Works

Plays

*"Les pieds nickelés" (1895)
*"L'anglais tel qu'on le parle" (1899)
*"Triplepatte" (1905)
*"Le petit café" (1911)
*"Les Jumeaux de Brighton"

Narrative works

*"Vous m'en direz tant" (1894) collaboration with Pierre Veber
*"Contes de Pantruche et d'ailleurs" (1897)
*"Sous toutes réserves" (1898)
*"Mémoires d'un jeune homme rangé" (1899)
*"Amants et voleurs" (1905)
*"L'affaire Larcier" (1924)
*"Robin des bois" (1935)
*"Un mari pacifique"
*"Aux abois"