Umm-El-Banine Assadoulaeff (Ummulbanu Asadullayeva; 18 December 1905 – 23 October 1992) was a French writer of Azerbaijani descent who wrote under the

penname A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Banine.

Biography

She was a granddaughter of Azerbaijani

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

Shamsi Asadullayev and daughter of Azerbaijani businessman and politician Mirza Asadullayev. Banine emigrated to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1923 following her father, a former minister in the government of the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

(December 1918-April 1920). She moved to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

where she abandoned her husband whom she had been forced to marry at the age of fifteen and then fled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. There, after many years, literary acquaintances, including

Henry de Montherlant Henry Marie Joseph Frédéric Expedite Millon de Montherlant (; 20 April 1895 – 21 September 1972) was a French essayist, novelist, and dramatist. He was elected to the Académie française in 1960. Biography Born in Paris, a descendant of ...

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis (; ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer, journalist, politician, poet and philosopher. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominate ...

, and

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

urged her to publish. Banine dedicated her later life to introducing the history and culture of Azerbaijan to France and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Her most famous writings are ''Days in the Causasus'' and ''Parisian Days''. Banine, who was the friend of the German writer

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...

and Russian

Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga; – 8 November 1953)Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in her books. Banine published several articles about the situation in Azerbaijan. She died in October 1992. Her obituary in the newspaper ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' called her "one of those personages of La vie romanesque who traverse a century, attracting like a lodestone all the singular figures of their times".William Pfaff. The Bullet's Song: Romantic Violence and Utopia.

Major works

* ''Nami'' (''Nami''), Gallimard, 1942. * ''Days in the Caucasus'' (''Jours caucasiens''), Julliard, 1946. * ''Parisian Days'' (''Jours parisiens''), Julliard, 1947, Gris Banal, 2003. * ''Meetings with

'' (''Rencontres avec Ernst Jünger''), Julliard, 1951. * ''I chose opium'' (''J'ai choisi l'opium''), Stock, 1959. * ''After'' (''Après''), Stock, 1962. * ''Foreign France'' (''La France étrangère''), S.O.S Desclée de Brouwer, 1968. * ''The call of the last chance'' (''L'appel de la dernière chance''), S.O.S, 1971. * ''Portrait of Ernst Jünger: letters, texts, meetings'' (''Portrait d'Ernst Jünger : lettres, textes, rencontres''), La Table Ronde, 1971. * ''Ernst Jünger multiple faces'' (''Ernst Jünger aux faces multiples''), Lausanne, éditions L'Âge d'Homme, 1989. * ''What Mary told me: the tale of Mary's servant'' (''Ce que Marie m’a raconté : le dit de la Servante de Marie''), Cahier Bleus, 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banine 1905 births 1992 deaths 20th-century French non-fiction writers French people of Azerbaijani descent Azerbaijani novelists Azerbaijani women novelists Azerbaijani Roman Catholics 20th-century Azerbaijani novelists 20th-century French women writers 20th-century Azerbaijani women writers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Shia Islam 20th-century Azerbaijani writers Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Soviet emigrants to France