Alain-Fournier () was the pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier (3 October 1886 – 22 September 1914Mémoire des hommes Secrétariat Général pour l'Administration), a French author and soldier. He was the author of a single novel, ''
Le Grand Meaulnes
''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical – especially the name of t ...
'' (1913), which has been filmed twice and is considered a classic of
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
. The book is based partly on his childhood.
Biography
Alain-Fournier was born in
La Chapelle-d'Angillon
La Chapelle-d'Angillon () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.
Geography
A village of lakes, forestry and farming situated in the valley of the river Sauldre, some north of Bourges at the junction of t ...
, in the
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
'', in central France, the son of a school teacher. He studied at the
Lycée Lakanal
Lycée Lakanal is a public secondary school in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. It was named after Joseph Lakanal, a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France. The school also offers a mid ...
in
Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine
Sceaux () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Sceaux had a population of 20,004.
A wealthy city
Sceaux is famous for the Château de Sceaux, ...
, near Paris, where he prepared for the entrance examination to the
École Normale Supérieure
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, S ...
, but without success. He then studied at the merchant marine school in Brest. At the Lycée Lakanal, he met
Jacques Rivière
Jacques Rivière (15 July 1886 – 14 February 1925) was a French " man of letters" — a writer, critic and editor who was "a major force in the intellectual life of France in the period immediately following World War I". He edited the ...
, and the two became close friends. In 1909, Rivière married Alain-Fournier's younger sister Isabelle.
He interrupted his studies in 1907 and from 1908 to 1909 he performed his military service. At this time he published some essays, poems and stories which were later collected and re-published by the name ''Miracles''.
Throughout this period he was contemplating what would become his celebrated novel, ''Le Grand Meaulnes''. On the first of June 1905, Ascension day, while he was taking a stroll along banks of the
Yvonne Marie Elise Toussaint de Quiévrecourt
''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical – especially the name of t ...
. He became enamoured, but it was not reciprocated. The next year on the same day he waited for her at the same place, but she did not appear. That night he told Rivière, "She did not come. And even if she had, she would not have been the same". They did not meet again until eight years later, when she was married with two children. Yvonne de Quiévrecourt would become Yvonne de Galais in his novel.
He returned to Paris in 1910 and became a
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...
and
Paul Claudel
Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism.
Early lif ...
. In 1912, he quit his job to become the personal assistant of the politician Casimir Perrier. ''Le Grand Meaulnes'' was finished in early 1913, and was published first in the
Nouvelle Revue Française
''La Nouvelle Revue Française'' (; "The New French Review") is a literary magazine based in France. In France, it is often referred to as the ''NRF''.
History and profile
The magazine was founded in 1909 by a group of intellectuals including An ...
(from July to October 1913), and then as a book. ''Le Grand Meaulnes'' was nominated for, but did not win, the
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...
. It is available in English in a widely admired 1959 translation by Frank Davison for Oxford University Press with the title ''The Lost Domain''.
In 1914, Alain-Fournier started work on a second novel, ''Colombe Blanchet'', but this remained unfinished when he joined the Army as a lieutenant during August. He died fighting near Vaux-lès-Palameix (
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...
) one month later, on 22 September 1914. His body remained unidentified until 1991, at which time he was buried in the cemetery of
Saint-Remy-la-Calonne
Saint-Remy-la-Calonne () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
The author Alain-Fournier, who died in 1914, was buried in the cemetery here after his body was identified in 1991. The main street through the ...
. According to some sources, the patrol which Alain-Fournier was part of received the order to "shoot at German soldiers encountered unexpectedly and who were stretcher-bearers"; the patrol obeyed, which the Germans would have considered a violation of international conventions. According to :de:Gerd Krumeich, professor at the University of
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
, it is correct that Alain-Fournier's patrol attacked a German ambulance, but it is difficult to establish the precise facts.
Most of the writing of Alain-Fournier was published posthumously: ''Miracles'' (a volume of poems and essays) in 1924, his correspondence with Jacques Rivière in 1926 and his letters to his family in 1930. His notes and sketches for ''Colombe Blanchet'' have also been published.
Albin Schram manuscripts
A correspondence between Alain-Fournier and an unidentified woman was found in the
Albin Schram Albin Schram (1926–2005) was one of the greatest collectors of autograph letters by shapers of world history. He was born in Prague to Austrian parents. He studied law at Vienna University and worked in Vienna, Germany and Switzerland. After the a ...
Collection. It is a grateful letter for her introduction to Monsieur Hébrard and refers to his next work:
''Il m'a proposé pour''
Le Temps
''Le Temps'' ( literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has ...
''ce qu'il était le plus logique de me proposer: lui apporter mon prochain roman – ce que j'ai promis bien volontiers. Ce second roman est, pour l'instant un peu retardé par une nouvelle oeuvre qui s'est mise au travers de ma route et qui ne me laisse pas beaucoup de répit. Mais j'espère bien avant la fin de l'année avoir terminé'' Colombe Blanchet.
He has proposed to me for ''Le Temps'' that which was the most logical thing to propose to me: to bring him my next novel – which I have promised quite willingly. This second novel is, for the moment, somewhat delayed by a new work which has placed itself across my path and which doesn't leave me much respite. But I hope well before the end of the year to have finished ''Colombe Blanchet''.
AJRAF
In 1975, AJRAF – ''Association des amis de Jacques Rivière et d'Alain-Fournier'' (Association of the Friends of Jacques Rivière and of Alain-Fournier) was founded by Alain Rivière, the son of Jacques Rivière and nephew of Alain-Fournier to "promote knowledge of these two authors and to gather their friends together".Le Grand Meaulnes – The Wanderer website /ref>
Works
* ''
Le Grand Meaulnes
''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical – especially the name of t ...
''
* ''Colombe Blanchet'' (unfinished novel)
* ''Lettre au Petit B''
* ''Miracles'' (poems)
Albens
Albens (; frp, Arbin) is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Entrelacs.