Henri Troyat (born Lev Aslanovich Tarasov; – 2 March 2007) was a Russian-French writer, biographer, historian, and novelist.

Early life

Lev Aslanovich Tarasov (, ''Lev Aslanovich Tarasov'') was born in Moscow to parents of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

heritage. In his autobiography, he states that his surname is

(Torossian). His family fled Russia after the outbreak of the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. After a long exodus taking them to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

on to

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and later by sea 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 ...

and then

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, the family finally settled in Paris in 1920, where young Troyat was schooled and later earned a law degree. The stirring and tragic events of this flight across half of Europe are vividly recounted by Troyat in ''Tant que la terre durera'' (While the earth lasts).

Career

Troyat received his first literary award, ''Le prix du roman populaire'', at the age of twenty-four, and by twenty-seven, he was awarded the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

. He published more than 100 books, novels and biographies, among them those of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final ye ...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. Troyat's best-known work is ''La neige en deuil'' (The snow in mourning), which was adapted as an English-language film in 1956 under the title ''

The Mountain The Mountain () was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. The term, first used during a session of the Legislative Assembly, came into ge ...

''. Troyat was elected as a member of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1959. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving member.

Personal life and death

Troyat's first marriage produced a son before ending in divorce. He later married a widow with a young daughter whom he raised as his own. He died on 2 March 2007 in Paris. Henri Troyat tombe

Bibliography

Fiction

* 1935: ''Faux Jour'' (Plon) * 1935: ''Le Vivier'' (Plon) * 1936: ''Grandeur nature'' (Plon) * 1937: ''La Clef de voûte'' (Plon) * 1938: ''L’Araigne'' (Plon); UK trans. ''The Web'' (1984) * 1939: ''La Fosse commune'' (Plon) * 1941: ''Le Jugement de Dieu'' (Plon) * 1942: ''Le mort saisit le vif'' (Plon) * 1945: ''Du Philanthrope à la Rouquine'' (Flammarion) * 1945: ''Le Signe du taureau'' (Plon) * 1946: ''Les Ponts de Paris'' (Flammarion) * 1946: ''Les Vivants, pièce en trois actes'' (Bonne) * 1947: ''Tant que la terre durera, tome I'' (La Table ronde); US trans. ''The Red and the White'' (1956) * 1948: ''Le Sac et la Cendre, Tant que la terre durera, tome II'' (La Table ronde); UK trans. ''Sackcloth and Ashes'' (1956) * 1948: ''La Case de l’oncle Sam'' (La Table ronde) * 1949: ''Sébastien, pièce en trois actes'' (Opéra) * 1950: ''Étrangers sur la terre, Tant que la terre durera, tome III'' (La Table ronde); UK trans. ''Strangers in the Land'' (1958) * 1951: ''La Tête sur les épaules'' (Plon); UK trans. ''Head in the Clouds'' (1979) * 1952: ''La Neige en deuil'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''The Mountain'' (1953) * 1952: ''L’Étrange Destin de Lermontov'' (Plon) * 1953: ''Les Semailles et les Moissons, tome I'' (Plon); US trans. ''Amelie in Love'' (1956) * 1955: ''De Gratte-ciel en cocotier'' (Plon) * 1955: ''Amélie, Les Semailles et les Moissons, tome II'' (Plon); US trans. ''Amelie and Pierre'' (1957) * 1956: ''La Maison des bêtes heureuses'' (Bias) * 1956: ''La Grive, Les Semailles et les Moissons, tome III'' (Plon); US trans. ''Elizabeth'' (1959) * 1957: ''Tendre et violente Elisabeth, Les Semailles et les Moissons, tome IV'' (Plon); US trans. ''Tender and Violent Elizabeth'' (1960) * 1958: ''La Rencontre, Les Semailles et les Moissons, tome V'' (Plon); US trans. ''The Encounter'' (1962) * 1958: ''Naissance d’une Dauphine'' (Gallimard) * 1959: ''La Lumière des justes, tome I : Les Compagnons du Coquelicot.'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''The Brotherhood of the Red Poppy'' (1962) * 1960: ''La Lumière des justes, tome II : La Barynia.'' (Flammarion); US trans. ''The Baroness'' (1961) * 1961: ''La Lumière des justes, tome III : La Gloire des vaincus.'' (Flammarion) * 1962: ''La Lumière des justes, tome IV : Les Dames de Sibérie.'' (Flammarion) * 1963: ''La Lumière des justes, tome V : Sophie ou la Fin des combats.'' (Flammarion) * 1963: ''Une extrême amitié'' (La Table ronde); UK trans. ''An Intimate Friendship'' (1967) * 1964: ''Le Geste d’Ève'' (Flammarion) * 1965: ''Les Eygletière, tome I'' (Flammarion) * 1966: ''La Faim des lionceaux, Les Eygletière, tome II'' (Flammarion) * 1967: ''La Malandre, Les Eygletière, tome III'' (Flammarion) * 1968: ''Les Héritiers de l’avenir, tome I : Le Cahier.'' (Flammarion) * 1969: ''Les Héritiers de l’avenir, tome II : Cent un coups de canon.'' (Flammarion) * 1970: ''Les Héritiers de l’avenir, tome III : L’Éléphant blanc.'' (Flammarion) * 1972: ''La Pierre, la Feuille et les Ciseaux'' (Flammarion) * 1973: ''Anne Prédaille'' (Flammarion) * 1974: ''Le Moscovite, tome I'' (Flammarion) * 1974: ''Les Désordres secrets, Le Moscovite, tome II'' (Flammarion) * 1975: ''Les Feux du matin, Le Moscovite, tome III'' (Flammarion) * 1976: ''Un si long chemin'' (Stock) * 1976: ''Le Front dans les nuages'' (Flammarion) * 1976: ''Grimbosq'' (Flammarion) * 1978: ''Le Prisonnier n° I'' (Flammarion) * 1980: ''Viou, tome I'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''Sylvie'' (1982) * 1982: ''Le Pain de l’étranger'' (Flammarion) * 1983: ''La Dérision'' (Flammarion) * 1984: ''Marie Karpovna'' (Flammarion) * 1985: ''Le Bruit solitaire du cœur'' (Flammarion) * 1986: ''À demain, Sylvie, Viou, tome II'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''Sylvie - Happiness'' (1989) * 1987: ''Le Troisième Bonheur, Viou, tome III'' (Flammarion) * 1988: ''Toute ma vie sera mensonge'' (Flammarion) * 1989: ''La Gouvernante française'' (Flammarion) * 1990: ''La Femme de David'' (Flammarion) * 1991: ''Aliocha'' (Flammarion) * 1992: ''Youri'' (Flammarion) * 1993: ''Le Chant des Insensés'' (Flammarion) * 1994: ''Le Marchand de masques'' (Flammarion) * 1995: ''Le Défi d’Olga'' (Flammarion) * 1996: ''Votre très humble et très obéissant serviteur'' (Flammarion) * 1997: ''L’Affaire Crémonnière'' (Flammarion) * 1998: ''Le Fils du satrape'' (Grasset) * 1998: ''Terribles tsarines'' (Grasset) * 1999: ''Les turbulences d’une grande famille'' (Grasset) * 1999: ''Namouna ou la chaleur animale'' (Grasset) * 2000: ''La Ballerine de Saint-Pétersbourg'' (Plon) * 2001: ''La Fille de l'écrivain'' (Grasset) * 2002: ''L'Étage des bouffons'' (Grasset) * 2004: ''La Fiancée de l'ogre'' (Grasset) * 2004: ''La Baronne et le musicien'' (Grasset) * 2006: ''La Traque'' (Grasset) * 2009: ''Le Pas du juge'' (Bernard de Fallois) * 2009: ''La folie des anges'' (Bernard de Fallois) * 2010: ''Trois mères, trois fils'' (Bernard de Fallois)

Non-fiction

* 1940: ''Dostoïevski'' (Fayard);

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

* 1946: ''Pouchkine'' (Plon); UK trans. '' Pushkin: His Life and Times'' (1951) & new trans. ''Pushkin. A Biography'' (1974) * 1956: ''Sainte Russie, souvenirs et réflexions suivi de l’Assassinat d’Alexandre II'' (Grasset) * 1959: ''La Vie quotidienne en Russie au temps du dernier tsar'' (Hachette); UK trans. ''Daily Life in Russia Under the Last Tsar'' (1961) * 1965: ''Tolstoï'' (Fayard); UK trans. ''

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

'' (1968) * 1971: ''Gogol'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...

: The Biography of a Divided Soul'' (1974) * 1971: '' Kisling 1891-1953'' (Jean Kisling); tomes I & II avec Joseph Kessel * 1977: ''Catherine la Grande'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''

'' (1979) * 1979: ''Pierre le Grand'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

'' (1988) * 1981: ''Alexandre Ier'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

of Russia'' (1984) * 1982: ''Ivan le Terrible'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''

'' (1985) * 1984: ''Tchekhov'' (Flammarion); UK trans. ''

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

'' (1987) * 1985: ''Tourgueniev'' (Flammarion); UK trans. '' Turgenev. A Biography'' (1989) * 1986: ''Gorki'' (Flammarion); UK trans. '' Gorky. A Biography'' (1989) * 1988: ''Flaubert'' (Flammarion); UK trans. '' Flaubert'' (1992) * 1989: ''Maupassant'' (Flammarion); Guy de Maupassant * 1990: ''Alexandre II, le tsar libérateur'' (Flammarion);

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

* 1991: ''Nicolas II, le dernier tsar'' (Flammarion);

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

* 1992: ''Zola'' (Flammarion);

Emile Zola Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise o ...

* 1993: ''Verlaine'' (Flammarion);

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

* 1994: ''Baudelaire'' (Flammarion);

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

* 1995: ''Balzac'' (Flammarion); Honore de Balzac * 1996: ''Raspoutine'' (Flammarion); ''

'' trans. German and Swedish (1998), Spanish (2004) * 1997: ''Juliette Drouet'' (Flammarion); Juliette Drouet * 2000: ''Nicolas Ier'' (Librairie académique Perrin);

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

* 2001: ''Marina Tsvetaeva : L'éternelle insurgée'' (Grasset);

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva ( rus, Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈta(j)ɪvə, links=yes; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the most well-known in twentieth-century Russ ...

* 2004: ''Alexandre III'' (Grasset);

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...

* 2005: ''Alexandre Dumas. Le cinquième mousquetaire'' (Grasset);

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

* 2006: ''Pasternak'' (Grasset);

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

* 2008: ''Boris Godunov'' (Flammarion); Boris Godunov

In popular culture

A fictionalised version of Henri Troyat is featured in the 2014–2015

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

Millarworld

comic book series a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

'' MPH'' by

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...

and

Duncan Fegredo Duncan Fegredo (; born 1964) is a British comic book artist. Career Born in Leicester, Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a s ...

as the former Chief Scientific Officer of

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 ...

's superhuman development program and inventor of the titular "MPH" super-speed pill, who disappeared in 1984 and has been living in-hiding ever since (bar attending the occasional jazz festival). While Millar revealed in an interview in January 2014 that the character would return in another then-untitled title set in the Millarworld shared

fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...

the following year, which turned out to be '' Huck'', the character would be renamed "Orlov" for this follow-up appearance.

References

External links

L'Académie française

official site

BBC "Eminent French writer Troyat dies" 5 March 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troyat, Henri 1911 births 2007 deaths Writers from Paris 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists Members of the Académie Française Prix Goncourt winners White Russian emigrants to France French people of Armenian descent French people of Russian descent Russian people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian historians Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni French male novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers