Maurice Constantin-Weyer (24 April 1881,

Bourbonne-les-Bains Bourbonne-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France in the region Grand Est.Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

) was a French writer. His best known novel is ''Un homme se penche sur son passé'',

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 ...

1928 (tr.: ''A Man Scans His Past'', 1929).

Biography

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

and

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, Constantin lived ten years in Canada (

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

) between 1904 and 1914 and this adventurous period fed a big part of his later work written in France between 1920 and 1950. Maurice Constantin-Weyer was a successful writer, best known for his novels of adventure: the most emblematic is ''Un homme se penche sur son passé'' (''A man scans his past''), which won the

in 1928, and whose action takes place in large areas of the

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and northern Canada in the early twentieth century. He returned to France in 1914 to fight in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he was often wounded and decorated (

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

–

Salonique Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

...). After the war he became a journalist and published novels and biographies in France. His original last name was only "Constantin"; he added the name of his second wife in 1920 and signed all his works Maurice Constantin-Weyer.

Bibliography

For complete list see the French Wikipedia. English translations : * ''A Man Scans His Past'', 1929 (''Un homme se penche sur son passé'', 1928) * ''The Half Breed'' /''A Martyr's Folly'' 1930 - fictionalized biography of Louis Riel (''La Bourrasque'', 1925) * ''Towards the West'', 1931 (''Vers l'ouest'', 1921) * ''The French Adventurer; The Life and Exploits of LaSalle'', 1931 (''Cavalier de La Salle'', 1927) * ''Forest Wild'', 1932 (Clairière, 1929 )

External links

* *
"Foreign Writers on Canada in French"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''.

* ttp://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/constantinweyer_m.shtml Maurice C-W entry in the Manitoba Historical Society online
Maurice Constantin-Weyer entry at Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada
1881 births 1964 deaths 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French novelists Canadian writers in French French male novelists French military personnel of World War I People from Haute-Marne Prix Goncourt winners Writers from Grand Est {{France-novelist-19thC-stub