Raymond Radiguet (18 June 1903 – 12 December 1923) was a French novelist and poet whose two novels were noted for their explicit themes, and unique style and tone.

Early life

Radiguet was born in Saint-Maur, Val-de-Marne, close to Paris, the son of a

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Alf ...

. In 1917, he moved to the city. Soon he would drop out of the

Lycée Charlemagne The Lycée Charlemagne is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France. Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesui ...

, where he studied, in order to pursue his interests in journalism and literature.

Career

In early 1923, Radiguet published his first and most famous novel, '' Le Diable au corps'' (''The Devil in the Flesh''). The story of a young married woman who has an affair with a 16-year-old boy while her husband is away fighting at the front provoked scandal in a country that had just been through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Though Radiguet denied it, it was established later that the story was in large part

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

. His second novel, '' Le bal du Comte d'Orgel'' (''The Ball of Count Orgel''), also dealing with

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, was only published posthumously in 1924, and also proved controversial. In addition to his two novels, Radiguet's works include a few poetry volumes and a play.

Associations

He associated himself with the

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

set, befriending

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

Jean Hugo Jean Hugo (19 November 1894 – 21 June 1984) was a painter, illustrator, theatre designer and author. He was born in Paris and died in his home at the Mas de Fourques, near Lunel, France. Brought up in a lively artistic environment, he began ...

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

and especially

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

, who became his mentor. Radiguet also had several well-documented relationships with women. An anecdote told by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

has an enraged Cocteau charging Radiguet (known in the Parisian literary circles as ''"Monsieur Bébé"'' – Mister Baby) with decadence for his tryst with a female model: ''"Bébé est vicieuse. Il aime les femmes."'' ("Baby is depraved. He likes women." ote the use of the feminine adjective. Radiguet, Hemingway implies, employed his sexuality to advance his career: being a writer "who knew how to make his career not only with his pen but with his pencil."

Literary reactions

In 1945, Steadman and

Blake Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

write that admirers of his first novel "include the most discriminating of critics."

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

is quoted as declaring that Radiguet had attained the literary control that others required a long career to reach.

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (, oc, Francés Carles Mauriac; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the Nobel Prize ...

said that ''Le Diable au corps'' is "unretouched and seems shocking, but nothing so resembles

cynicism Cynic or Cynicism may refer to: Modes of thought * Cynicism (philosophy), a school of ancient Greek philosophy * Cynicism (contemporary), modern use of the word for distrust of others' motives Books * ''The Cynic'', James Gordon Stuart Grant 1 ...

as clairvoyance. No adolescent before Radiguet has delivered to us the secret of that age: we have all falsified it."

Death

On 12 December 1923, Radiguet died at age 20 in Paris of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

, which he contracted after a trip he took with Cocteau. Cocteau, in an interview with ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...

'', stated that Radiguet had told him three days before his death that, "In three days, I am going to be shot by the soldiers of God." In reaction to this death Francis Poulenc wrote, "For two days I was unable to do anything, I was so stunned". In her 1932 memoir, ''Laughing Torso'', British artist

Nina Hamnett Nina Hamnett (14 February 1890 – 16 December 1956) was a Welsh artist and writer, and an expert on sailors' chanteys, who became known as the Queen of Bohemia. Early life Hamnett was born in Shirley House, Picton Road in the small c ...

describes Radiguet's funeral: "The church was crowded with people. In the pew in front of us was the negro band from Le Boeuf sur le Toit. Picasso was there, Brâncuși and so many celebrated people that I cannot remember their names. Radiguet's death was a terrible shock to everyone.

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...

, the celebrated dressmaker, arranged the funeral. It was most wonderfully done. Cocteau was too ill to come." ... " Cocteau was terribly upset and could not see anyone for weeks afterwards. I wrote to him in February and asked him if I could come and see him. He wrote me a charming letter:

25 fevrier 1924
CHERE NINA
Je suis toujours malade et sans courage.
Telephonez un matin".
De coeur,
JEAN COCTEAU ''English Translation'' 25 February 1924
DEAR NINA
I am still sick and without courage.
Call me in the morning.
With heart,
JEAN COCTEAU

Bibliography

* ''Les Joues en feu'' (1920) – poetry, translated by Alan Stone as ''Cheeks on Fire: Collected Poems'' * ''Devoirs de vacances'' (1921) – poetry (English translation ''Holiday Homework'') * ''Les Pelican'' (1921) – drama, translated by Michael Benedikt and George Wellworth as ''The Pelicans'' * ''Le Diable au corps'' (1923) – novel, translated by

Kay Boyle Kay Boyle (February 19, 1902 – December 27, 1992) was an American novelist, short story writer, educator, and political activist. She was a Guggenheim Fellow and O. Henry Award winner. Early years The granddaughter of a publisher, Boyle was ...

as ''The Devil in the Flesh'' * ''Le Bal du comte d'Orgel'' (1924) – novel, translated by

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

as ''The Count's Ball'' * ''Oeuvres completes'' (1952) – translated as Complete Works * ''Regle du jeu'' (1957) – translated as ''Game Rule'' * ''Vers Libres & Jeux Innocents, Le Livre a Venir'' (1988) – translated as ''About Free & Games Innocents, The Book is Coming''

Film adaptations

In 1947,

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director and later Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Biography Born at Luzarches in Val-d'Oise, Autant-Lara was educated in France and at London's Mill Hill Sc ...

released his film ''Le diable au corps'', based on Radiguet's novel, and starring

Gérard Philipe Gérard Philipe (born Gérard Albert Philip, 4 December 1922 – 25 November 1959) was a prominent French actor who appeared in 32 films between 1944 and 1959. Active in both theatre and cinema, he was, until his early death, one of the main ...

. Coming just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the movie caused controversy in its turn. Among the other cinematic versions of Radiguet's story, the heavily adapted version by

Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...

, '' Il diavolo in corpo'' (

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

), was notable as being among the first mainstream films to show unsimulated sex. In 1970, ''Le Bal du compte d'Orgel'' was adapted into a film, starring Jean-Claude Brialy as Le comte Anne d'Orgel. It was the last movie directed by Marc Allégret, who, like Radiguet, had once fallen under the spell of Cocteau.

In popular culture

The artist David Cilnius has dedicated his lyric/poem ''Whip the poor will'' to the writer's premature death, quoting Radiguet's last words.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radiguet, Raymond 1903 births 1923 deaths People from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 20th-century French novelists French male novelists 20th-century French male writers