Bernard Charles Henri Clavel (29 May 1923 – 5 October 2010) was a French writer. Clavel was born in

Lons-le-Saunier Lons-le-Saunier () is a commune and capital of the Jura Department, eastern France. Geography The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura massif. The Jura escarpment extends to the east and ...

. From a humble background, he was largely self-educated. He began working as a pastry cook apprentice when he was 14 years old. He later had several jobs until he began working as a journalist in the 1950s. After the war, he worked for the

social insurance Social insurance is a form of social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of social assistance, individuals' ...

, and he could not dedicate himself to literature until 1964. He lived and worked in many places, and was living in

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. ...

at the time of his death. His first novel was ''L'Ouvrier de la nuit'' (''Night Worker'', 1956). He later published works for young people and numerous novels, at times organised into series: ''La grande patience'' (''The Great Patience'', 4 volumes — 1962–1968), ''Les Colonnes du ciel'' (''Heaven's Pillars'', 5 volumes — 1976–1981), or ''Le Royaume du nord'' (''Northern Kingdom'', 6 volumes — 1983–1989). In his writings, he employed simple language and attached importance to humble characters and to the defence of humanist values by questioning violence and war. He died in

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

Prizes and memberships

* Prix Goncourt for '' Les Fruits de l'hiver'': 1968 * Member of

Académie Goncourt The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in Paris. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher Edmond de G ...

1971–1977. * Member of

Coordination française pour la Décennie