Anatole France is a renowned French literary critic and writer. The works of the Nobel laureate in literature and a member of the French Academy were distinguished by their refined style and Gallic temperament.
The most famous works of François Anatoly Thibault were "Rise of the Angels", "Thais", "The Gods are Thirsty", "Island of Penguins".
Searching for a vocation
The biography of the future writer began in 1844. He was born on April 16 in Paris. The head of the family owned a bookstore. Thibault Jr. did not like to study. He read his favorite books in college, earning poor grades in science. The graduate received his bachelor's degree only after the exams passed at the Sorbonne in 1864.
At the age of 22, Anatol began working as a bibliographer. Literary creativity began with communication with members of the Parnassian School, who called romance an outdated trend. The writer began under their influence as a poet.
In 1873 he created the collection Golden Poems, in 1876 he wrote The Corinthian Wedding. Both critics and the public greeted the compositions very favorably. However, the writer soon turned to prose. With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, France enlisted in the army. He returned to the editorial craft only after demobilization.
In 1875 he started working as a journalist. In the newspaper Le Temps. The young employee wrote a series of critical articles on the work of contemporary writers. A year later, France was at the publishing house a leading critic with his own column, Literary Life.
In 1876 he became deputy director of the Senate library. France remained in this position for 14 years. Since 1898, the writer was actively involved in the creation of people's universities and lecturing to the workers of the country.
Family and work
The personal life of the writer was not easy. In 1877 he and Marie-Valerie de Sauville became husband and wife. France completely switched to literary creation. He wrote a huge number of articles on many topics, was involved in editing.
In 1881, a child appeared in the family, daughter Suzanne. In the year of her birth, the writer acquired a unique style of his own by writing The Crime of Sylvester Bonar, Member of the Institute, and found his hero. In a satirical essay, severe virtue was defeated by frivolity and kindness.
The main character is an academician searching for old manuscripts. In his cozy world, books take all their place. However, another life periodically bursts into it. Mr. Kokoz tells his most interesting stories, and a young stranger with a baby receives a log from the academician to warmly celebrate Christmas.
Knowledge should never be dead weight. If they cannot be useful, then they are meaningless. The book was awarded the Prize of the French Academy. In the short stories of the collection "Mother of Pearl Casket", one can see the author's vivid imagination. Frans' favorite technique was the comparison of the Christian with the pagan worldview. The best example is the story "The Holy Satyr".
In the same period, Frans' fairy tale "The Bee" appeared. The work for children tells the story of the named brother and sister. The children who ran away from home were captured by magical creatures. The author brilliantly used his psychological flair and erudition.
Confession
In 1883, Anatol became a regular chronicler in the "Illustrated World" magazine. Reviews in the "Paris Chronicle" covered all aspects of life in the country and were published every two weeks. Until 1896, over 30 essays and articles were written. The famous novel Thais was published in 1889. Frans demonstrated his own style, a fusion of intellectual prose and depictions of reality.
The writer gained worldwide recognition after the release of the novels "Rise of the Angels", "Red Lily" and "The Gods are thirsty." By that time, disagreements began in the family. The writer maintained relations with his wife only for the sake of his daughter. The union finally collapsed in 1892.
The chosen one of the writer was Leontine Armand de Caiave, the owner of one of the best salons in the capital. She put the manuscripts in order, made translations, searched libraries for the necessary materials.
In 1889, disagreements began with his daughter, which ended in a break in communication between them. During that period, the writer released a series of social novels, works with the subtitle "Contemporary History". In a kind of historical chronicle, all events, both in reality and fictional, are analyzed from the point of view of philosophy. The author acts in the position of an impartial modern historian, assessing everything around with skeptical irony.
The series was composed of the books "Willow Mannequin", "Under the City Elms", "Amethyst Ring" and "Monsieur Bergeret in Paris". The storylines in each essay develop independently of the others. There is practically no intrigue, but there are a lot of characters.
The work, however, makes up a single whole, despite the mosaic structure: one main character, the author's attitude to the events described does not change.
Summarizing
In 1910, the faithful assistant of the writer Leontine de Caiave passed away. Ottilia Kosmutse, a writer who worked under the pseudonym Sandor Kemeri, helped him cope with the trauma. She became France's secretary, who continued to create.
In the socio-satirical essay "Rise of the Angels", published in 1914, there are elements of game mysticism. And the novel Gods Thirst is dedicated to the events of the bourgeois revolution, the time of the Jacobin dictatorship.
Since 1918, the writer raised his only grandson Lucien, who was left without parents. In the last years of his life, the writer turned to the autobiographical genre. He created books about childhood and the time of youth "Life in Bloom" and "Little Pierre".
The writer passed away in 1924, on October 12.
Operas based on the works of the writer "Thais" and "The Juggler of Our Lady" were written by the composer Georges Massenet. The works "Thais" and "L'Affaire Crainquebille" were screened.
