Herbert Roger Lottman (August 16, 1927,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

– August 27, 2014,

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 ...

) was an American author who specialized in writing biographies on French subjects. An influential biographer, he published 17 biographies, 15 of which were related to French culture, commerce, or politics; including works on

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

Henri Philippe Pétain Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, and the

Rothschild banking family of France The Rothschild banking family of France () is the French branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1812 by James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868) in Paris, which was then part of the First French Empire. He was sent there from his home ...

. He wrote that, just before dying,

was pledged to marry. Camus's estate tried to block his book, partly because of this controversial statement."Albert Camus: A Biography" by Herbert R. Lottman (1997) - Preface to the new edition.

Life and career

Born in Brooklyn, Lottman was the son of a Broadway press agent. His brother, Evan A. Lottman, is an Oscar nominated film editor. He graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1948 with degrees in English and biology. He won a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

which enabled him to pursue further studies in Paris. There he met and married his first wife Michele before returning to New York to attend graduate school at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

; graduating with a Masters in English in 1951. In 1956 Lottman moved to Paris where he briefly attempted to pursue a career as a novelist. He ultimately settled on managing the Paris branch of the publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

, writing freelance articles for magazines, and working as a biographer, publishing his first book, ''Detours From the Grand Tour'', in 1970. He also worked for ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' as a writer for four decades. In 1991 Lottman was appointed Chevalier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

, and was later made an Officer in 1996. He died at his home in Paris at the age of 87 and is buried at the

Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lottmann, Herbert 1927 births 2014 deaths Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery New York University alumni Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Writers from Brooklyn American male writers