Bernard Frank (11 October 1929 – 3 November 2006) was a French journalist and writer.

Early life

Bernard Frank was raised in a comfortable family, where his father was a bank manager. After his

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

, he started a Khâgne at the Lycée Pasteur but was expelled for bad conduct. He tried again to complete his preparatory classes at the

lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a secondary school in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. Founded in 1803, it is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inc ...

, but abandoned them out of boredom during the second trimester. At the age of 20, Frank met

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

, who entrusted him on a trial basis with a column in his magazine, ''

Les Temps Modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' () was a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Its first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''Les Temps Moderne ...

''. He remained a periodic contributor, but after publication of his novel ''Les Rats'' (1953), he fell out with the magazine's management.

Career and journalism

During 1952–1953, Frank was in charge of the literary column in ''l'Observateur'', as a substitute for Maurice Nadeau. He started his work on the weekly with a double page which he dedicated to

Drieu la Rochelle Pierre Eugène Drieu La Rochelle (; 3 January 1893 – 15 March 1945) was a French writer of novels, short stories, and political essays. He was born, lived and died in Paris. Drieu La Rochelle became a proponent of French fascism in the 1930 ...

. He then coined the label " Hussards", in a December 1952 article published in ''

Les Temps modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' () was a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Its first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''Les Temps Moderne ...

'', to designate writers such as

Roger Nimier Roger Nimier (31 October 1925 – 28 September 1962) was a French novelist. Life Nimier was born in Paris, and served in the French Army, specifically in the 2nd Hussard Regiment in the Second World War (until 1945). He began to write quite early ...

and

Antoine Blondin Antoine Blondin (; 11 April 1922 – 7 June 1991) was a French writer. He belonged to the literary group called the '' Hussards''. He was also a sports columnist in ''L'Équipe''. Blondin also wrote under the name Tenorio. Biography Blondin w ...

. He also contributed to ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'', the ''Cahier des saisons'', the ''Nouveau Candide'', and ''

L'Actualité ''L'actualité'' is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Rogers Communications until 2016, then by Mishmash (XPND Capital). The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Meas ...

''. "Every autumnn he disparaged the nominees for literary prizes, judging that too many bad novels are published, and mocked colleagues who found genius in the slightest nuance of the season; and just to push it, would double his ridicule just to wind them up." At the end of 1961, Frank met the journalist

Jean Daniel Jean Daniel Bensaid (21 July 1920 – 19 February 2020) was a French journalist and author. He was the founder and executive editor of '' Le Nouvel Observateur'' weekly now known as ''L'Obs''. Life and career Daniel was born in Blida, Algeria, ...

while hospitalised in a Neuilly clinic, where their mutual friend, the editor

Claude Perdriel Claude Perdriel (born 25 October 1926) is owner-manager of the Perdriel Group that publishes '' Sciences et Avenir'', '' Challenges'', '' Rue89'' and during 1970–1980, the Paris daily ''Le Matin de Paris''. It also published ''Le Nouvel Obse ...

, thought "perhaps maliciously"Collectif, Pour Jean Daniel, Dreux, 1990, pp. 83–84. to introduce them to one another. He again contributed to the ''Nouvel Observateur'' in the latter half of the 1960s.

Awards

Frank won the

Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots () is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt. The name derives ...

in 1971 for "''un Siècle débordé''", and the

Roger Nimier Prize The Roger Nimier Prize () is a French literature award. It is supposed to go to "a young author whose spirit is in line with the literary works of Roger Nimier". Nimier (1925–1962) was a novelist and a leading member of the Hussards (literary move ...

in 1981 for "''Solde''". That year he began a literary column in the daily ''

Le Matin de Paris ''Le Matin de Paris'' (, ''The Morning of Paris'') was a French daily newspaper, founded on 1 March 1977 by Claude Perdriel, and disappearing in 1987 ("dépôt de bilan" on 6 May). Its foundation is the subject of the documentary ''Numéros zéro ...

'' before rejoining ''Le Monde'' in 1985 and then ''Le Nouvel Observateur'' in 1989.

Death

Frank died of a heart attack 3 November 2006, while dining in a restaurant in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. His wife said that he was discussing politics at the moment of his death.

Works

* 1952 : ''Grognards et hussards'' * 1953 : ''Géographie universelle'' * 1953 : ''Les Rats'' * 1955 : ''Israël'' * 1955 : ''L'Illusion comique'' * 1956 : ''Le Dernier des Mohicans'' * 1958 : ''La Panoplie littéraire'' * 1970 : ''Un Siècle débordé'' * 1980 : ''Solde'' * 2001(?) : ''Portraits et Aphorismes''

Notes

References

* Translated from the French Wikipedia article '' Bernard Frank.''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Bernard 1929 births 2006 deaths Writers from Neuilly-sur-Seine 20th-century French writers 20th-century French journalists French literary critics Roger Nimier Prize winners Prix des Deux Magots winners Lycée Condorcet alumni Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers