Maurice Druon

Novelist, Author

1918 – 2009

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Who was Maurice Druon?

Maurice Druon was a French novelist and a member of the Académie française, of which he served as “Perpetual Secretary” between 1985 and 1999.

Born in Paris, France, Druon was the son of Russian-jewish immigrant Lazare Kessel and was brought up at La Croix-Saint-Leufroy in Normandy and educated at the lycée Michelet de Vanves. His father committed suicide in 1920 and his mother remarried in 1926; Maurice subsequently took the name of his adoptive father, the lawyer René Druon.

He was the nephew of the writer Joseph Kessel, with whom he translated the Chant des Partisans, a French Resistance anthem of World War II, with music and words originally by Anna Marly. Druon was a member of the Resistance and came to London in 1943 to participate in the BBC's "Honneur et Patrie" programme.

Druon began writing for literary journals at the age of 18. In September 1939, having been called up for military service, he wrote an article for Paris-Soir entitled "J'ai vingt ans et je pars". Following the fall of France in 1940, he was demobilised and remained in the free region of France, and his first play, Mégarée, was produced in Monte Carlo in February 1942. He left the same year to join the forces of Charles de Gaulle. Druon became aide de camp to General François d'Astier de La Vigerie.

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Born
Apr 23, 1918
Paris
Also known as
  • Maurice de Reyniac Druon
  • Maurice Druon Roger Charles Samuel
  • Maurice Kessel
Parents
Spouses
Nationality
  • France
Profession
Education
  • Lycée Louis-le-Grand
Lived in
  • Paris
Died
Apr 14, 2009
Paris

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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