Professor Brian Juden M.A. D.èsL. (14 February 1920 – 31 July 2008) was Professor of French and Head of the Department at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, which is now known as

Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, ...

, part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, from 1970 to 1985. He was one of the leading authorities on the links between French literary creativity and political, religious and aesthetic thought.

Biography

Brian Valentine Juden was born on 14 February 1920 in New Malden, Surrey.Birth Certificate for Brian V Juden, GRO reference: Mar quarter 1920 District Croydon Volume 2a Page 922. His father was Charles Henry Juden (1883–1969), a civil servant in the Post Office, and his mother was Elizabeth (Lilly) Sarah Maria Juden née Shillingford (1884–1956). His older brother was Eric Charles Juden, who was born in 1911. Juden attended Surbiton County School from 1930 to 1936,Curriculum Vitae of Brian Valentine Juden. and Wimbledon Technical College from 1936 to 1937, where he studied Motor Car Technical Drawing and Calculations, and Motor Car Mechanics. He then started work as a motor engineer.Eulogy by Harry Cockerham, 8 August 2008. In the Second World War Juden served in the

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and the

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. It was in the tunnels under

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...

that he used his mathematics skills for gun-aiming work, but the poor conditions in the tunnels gave him respiratory problems. For these he was admitted as a patient to Smallfield Hospital near Redhill. This was staffed by the Royal Army Medical Corps, to which he subsequently transferred. After the war, Juden attended the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

, reading French from 1945 to 1948 for a Bachelor of Arts degree, and studying Education from 1948 to 1949 for a Teacher's Diploma.Victoria University of Manchester certificate dated 5 July 1949, certifying that the Teacher's Diploma had been awarded to Brian Valentine Juden. He was awarded a scholarship by the French Government to study at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

from 1949 to 1953. One of his first works there was his thesis on "l'Oeuvre lyrique de Gérard de Nerval", written under Eugène Vinaver's supervision, and for which he was awarded in 1951 the Degree of Master of Arts by the Victoria University of Manchester. In 1954 Juden was appointed assistant lecturer at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth C ...

, where he taught French language and French 19th century literature, and supervised the French lecteurs and lectrices. When Juden was staying in the English halls of the

Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris Cité may refer to: Places * Cité (Paris Métro), the metro station on the ''Île de la Cité'' * Cité (Quebec), type of municipality in Quebec * Citadel, the historical centre of an old city, originally fortified * Housing estate, a group of ho ...

, he met Marie-Josèphe Christiane Tortat, who was staying in the American halls and studying English.Marie-Josèphe Christiane (Josette) Juden née Tortat. She was born on 5 June 1925 in

Beton-Bazoches Beton-Bazoches is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Geography The river Aubetin The Aubetin is a long river in the Marne and Seine-et-Marne ''départements'', northeastern France ...

, which is about forty miles to the east of Paris, the daughter of Marie Joseph Georges Tortat, known as Georges, and Berthe Marie Henriette Tortat née Pouron. Juden and Marie-Josèphe married on 29 October 1955 in the Holy Cross Church in West Barnes, in south-west London. He shortened the name Marie-Josèphe Christiane to Josette, and they made their first home in Sheffield. Josette taught French to A level students at the girls' High School. He was promoted from assistant lecturer to lecturer. While he was working at the

, Juden wrote, under the supervision of Pierre Moreau and Pierre-Georges Castex, two theses for the award of his Doctorat d'État ès Lettres et Sciences Humaines: the major thesis was "Traditions Orphiques et Tendances Mystiques dans le Romantisme Français, 1800–1855" and the secondary thesis was "La France Littéraire de Charles Malo (1832–1839) et de Pierre Joseph Challamel (1840–1843)". The Doctorat d'État ès Lettres et Sciences Humaines was awarded by the

Université de Paris-Sorbonne Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

in 1971.Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Lettres et Civilisations) certificate dated 2 October 1971, certifying that Monsieur Brian Juden a été jugé digne du grade de Doctorat d'État ès Lettres et Sciences Humaines avec la mention très honorable. as deemed worthy of the degree of State Doctorate of Arts and Humanities with high honours/ref> The Doctorat d'État ès Lettres is equivalent to a Ph.D. In 1970 Juden was appointed to the University of London Chair of French at

, which is now known as

. He was Professor of French and Head of the Department. He and Josette moved home first to Guildford, Surrey and then in 1971 to Ascot, Berkshire. When Juden retired in 1985, a volume of essays on "Ideology and Religion in French Literature" was published in his honour. More than twenty scholars from nine nations contributed the essays to the volume, which demonstrated the depth and geographical extent of the esteem in which Juden was held, as a scholar and as a man. Juden died in Ascot, Berkshire on 31 July 2008. Josette died in Ascot, Berkshire on 30 November 2014. They had no children.

References

External links

Obituary for Professor Brian Juden
written by R.D. Cheetham and Mrs Josette Juden, on The University of Sheffield website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Juden, Brian 1920 births 2008 deaths People educated at Surbiton County Grammar School Military personnel from Surrey Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery personnel Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers University of Paris alumni British expatriates in France