Luc Bastard (pen name: Luc Estang; 1911–1992) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

writer, critic and publisher. He was born in Paris and attended

boarding schools A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

and

Catholic seminaries The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He began his writing career in 1929, and published his first newspaper piece in 1933. In 1934, he joined the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

daily '' La Croix'' as literature and arts critic, and he rose to be its editor-in-chief in 1940. In 1945 he became a permanent jury member of the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the Prix Goncour ...

. In 1955, he quit his position at ''La Croix'', seeking to break through the constraints of being known as "just another Catholic writer", or worse, a Catholic propagandist. He was a friend of renowned Catholic writers such as Mauriac,

Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defe ...

, Claudel and Jouhandeau. He continued to write through personal and professional upheavals, eventually producing some 20 novels. Among his best-known novels are the trilogy called ''Charges d'Ames'' (''The Cure of Souls'', 1949-1954), which has been compared to

Roger Peyrefitte Pierre Roger Peyrefitte (; 17 August 1907 – 5 November 2000) was a French diplomat, writer of bestseller novels and non-fiction, and a defender of gay rights and pederasty. Life and work Born in Castres, Tarn, to a middle-class bourgeo ...

's 1945 novel ''Les Amities particulieres'' (''Special friendships''). He was influenced by writers such as Peguy, Mauriac,

Alain-Fournier Henri-Alban Fournier (; 3 October 1886 – 22 September 1914),Mémoire des hommes
Secrétariat ...

and Saint-Exupery. Notable among his later novels are ''L'Apostat'' (1968) and ''Les Deicides'' (1980). Also in 1955, he became a regular contributor to ''Figaro Litteraire''. That same year, he co-founded the literary publishing house

Editions du Seuil Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Records ...

, where he published French authors such as

Julien Green Julien Green (originally "Julian Hartridge Green", 6 September 1900 – 13 August 1998) often Julian Green, was an American writer who lived most of his life in France and wrote mostly in French and only occasionally in English. Over a long and ...

Renaud Camus Renaud Camus (; ; born Jean Renaud Gabriel Camus on 10 August 1946) is a French novelist and conspiracy theorist. He is the originator of the far-right "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, which claims that a "global elite" is colluding again ...

Philippe Sollers Philippe Sollers (; born Philippe Joyaux; 28 November 1936 – 5 May 2023) was a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the '' avant garde'' literary journal '' Tel Quel'' (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was pu ...

Didier Decoin Didier Decoin (born 13 March 1945) is a French screenwriter and writer awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1977. Biography He is the son of filmmaker Henri Decoin. He began his career as a newspaper journalist at ''France-Soir'', ''Le Figaro'' and ...

- many of them for the first time - and foreign writers such as DM Thomas,

John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American and Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of his fourth novel '' Th ...

Alexander Zinoviev Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev ( Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Зино́вьев; 29 October 1922 – 10 May 2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist and journalist. Coming from a poor peasant family, a ...

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), Scottish-Canadian professor and author * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), ...

Severo Sarduy Severo Sarduy (February 25, 1937 – June 8, 1993) was a Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art. Some of his works deal explicitly with male homosexuality and transvestism. Biography Born in a working-class family ...

Amos Oz Amos Oz (; born Amos Klausner (); 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onwards, Oz was a pro ...

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalism, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937, ...

and Heinrich Boll. As a poet, he published his first book of verse in 1938, titled ''Au-dela de moi-meme'' (''Beyond myself''). This was followed by the critically acclaimed volume ''Transhumances'' (1939). Other works of poetry included ''Mystere apprivoise'' (''The Mystery Tamed'', 1943), ''La Laisse du Temps'' (''Time on a leash'', 1977) and ''Corps a Coeur'' (''Heart Body'', 1982). His last collection, ''Memorable planete'' appeared from Gallimard the year before his death. He was also a broadcasting pioneer, creating serious literary programmes for the radio, notably on

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

. He married Suzanne Bouchereau-Boigontier in 1939; the two had a daughter. He died in Paris in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estang, Luc French writers 1911 births 1992 deaths