Maurice Druon

Maurice Druon
Druon in 2003
Born	April 23, 1918(1918-04-23) Paris, France
Died	April 14, 2009(2009-04-14) (aged 90) Paris, France
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	French
Period	1942–2009

Maurice Druon (April 23, 1918 – April 14, 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie française.

Born in Paris, France, Druon was the nephew of the writer Joseph Kessel, with whom he translated the Chant des Partisans, a French Resistance anthem of World War II, with music and words (in Russian) originally by Anna Marly.

In 1948 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel Les grandes familles.

He was elected to the 30th seat of the Académie française on December 8, 1966, succeeding Georges Duhamel. On the death of Henri Troyat on 2 March 2007, he became the Dean of the Académie, its longest-serving member.

While his scholarly writing earned him a seat at the Académie, he is best known for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1950s under the title Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings).

He was Minister of Cultural Affairs (1973–1974) in Pierre Messmer's cabinet, and a deputy of Paris (1978–1981).

Druon was a descendant of Brazilian author Odorico Mendes.

Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings)

Main article: The Accursed Kings

The individual English titles below are from the Scribner English editions as published in the United States, rather than literal translations of the original French titles.

1. Le Roi de fer (The Iron King)
2. La Reine étranglée (The Strangled Queen)
3. Les Poisons de la couronne (The Poisoned Crown)
4. La Loi des mâles (The Royal Succession)
5. La Louve de France (The She-Wolf of France)
6. Le Lis et le Lion (The Lily and the Lion)
7. Quand un Roi perd la France (When a King Loses France)

Bibliography

Mégarée, pièce en trois actes, créée au Grand Théâtre de Monte-Carlo (1942) Le Sonneur de bien aller (1943 — novella) Préface d'un chameau en pyjame (1943) Le Chant des Partisans (with Joseph Kessel, 1943) Lettres d’un Européen, essai (1944) La Dernière Brigade, roman (1946) Ithaque délivrée, poème dramatique traduit de l’anglais ; d’après The Rescue d’Edward Sackville-West (1947) Les Grandes Familles (1948) La Chute des corps (Les Grandes Familles, II, 1950) Rendez-vous aux enfers (Les Grandes Familles, III, 1951) Remarques (1952) Un voyageur, comédie en un acte, au répertoire de la Comédie française (1953) Le Coup de grâce, mélodrame en trois actes (with Joseph Kessel, 1953) La Volupté d’être, roman (1954) La Reine étranglée (Les Rois maudits, II, 1955) Le Roi de fer (Les Rois maudits, I, 1955) Les Poisons de la couronne (Les Rois maudits, III, 1956) L'Hôtel de Mondez, nouvelle (1956) La Loi des mâles (Les Rois maudits, IV, 1957) Tistou les pouces verts (1957) Alexandre le Grand (1958) La Louve de France (Les Rois maudits, V, 1959) Le Lis et le Lion (Les Rois maudits, VI, 1960) Des Seigneurs de la plaine à l’hôtel de Mondez (1962 — Short story collection) Théâtre — Mégarée, Un voyageur, La Contessa (1962) Les Mémoires de Zeus (1963) Bernard Buffet, essai (1964 — Essay) Paris, de César à Saint Louis (1964 — Historical essay)

Le Pouvoir, notes et maximes (1965) Les Tambours de la mémoire (1965) Les Rois maudits, roman historique (6 volumes, 1966) Les Mémoires de Zeus, II, roman historique (1967) Le Bonheur des uns, nouvelles (1967) Vézelay, colline éternelle (1968) L'Avenir en désarroi, essai (1968) Grandeur et signification de Leningrad (1968) Lettres d’un Européen et Nouvelles Lettres d’un Européen, 1943-1970 (1970 — essay) Splendeur provençale (1970) Une Église qui se trompe de siècle (1972) La Parole et le Pouvoir (1974) Œuvres complètes (25 volumes with unpublished material, 1977) Quand un Roi perd la France (Les Rois maudits, VII, 1977) Attention la France ! (1981) Réformer la démocratie (1982) La Culture et l’État (1985) Vézelay, colline éternelle, nouvelle édition (1987) Lettre aux Français sur leur langue et leur âme (1994) Circonstances (1997) Circonstances politiques, 1954–1974 (1998) Le bon français (1999) Circonstances politiques II, 1974–1998 (1999) La France aux ordres d’un cadavre (2000) Ordonnances pour un État malade (2002) Le Franc-parler (2003) Mémoires. L'aurore vient du fond du ciel (2006) Les mémoires de Zeus (2007)

Honours and awards

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour

Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters

Médaille de la France libre

Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)

Grand Officer of Merit of the Sovereign Order of Malta

Dignitary or holder of Orders of the following countries: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Mexico, Monaco, Portugal, Russia, Senegal, Tunisia

Honorary Doctorates from York University (Toronto), Boston University (USA) and the University of Tirana (Albania)

Prix Goncourt (The Big Family, 1948)

Literary Award of the Foundation of Prince Pierre de Monaco (for lifetime achievement, 1966)

Prix Saint-Simon (Circumstances, 1998)

Prize Agrippa d'Aubigné (The Good French, 2000)

Order of Friendship, 1993 (Russia)

External links

• L'Académie française (French)
• Maurice Druon at the Internet Movie Database

Cultural offices
Preceded by Georges Duhamel	Seat 30 Académie française 1966–2009	Succeeded by Danièle Sallenave

Persondata
Name	Druon, Maurice
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 23, 1918
Place of birth	Paris, France
Date of death	April 14, 2009
Place of death	Paris, France