Morois works. Online reading of the book Letters to a Stranger by Andre Maurois

Recognized as an unsurpassed author of biographies. But the literary activity of the French writer is very rich and versatile. He wrote biographical novels and psychological novels, love stories and travel essays, philosophical essays and fantasy stories. But no matter what genre his books belong to, the harmony of the language of the writer Morois, clarity of thought, perfection of style, subtle irony and fascinating narration captivate readers forever.

Biography of the writer

Emile Erzog, known to readers as Andre Maurois, was born into a family of industrialists in Normandy, near Rouen, in 1885. His father was the owner of a textile factory, where Andre himself later worked as an administrator. The writer's childhood was serene: wealthy parents, friendly family, respect and attention from adults. Later, the author wrote that it was this that formed in him tolerance for other people's opinions, a sense of personal and civic duty.

As a child, he read a lot. His love for Russian writers is especially noted, which did not fade until the last days of his life. He first began to write at the Rouen Lyceum, where he studied from 1897. Among the teachers of the future writer Morois was the philosopher Alain, who had a significant impact on the worldview of the young man. Having received a licentiate degree, Andre nevertheless preferred the family business, which he had been doing for about ten years, to study. After the death of his father, Morois refused to run the family business and devoted himself entirely to his literary career.

War years

During the First World War, the French writer Maurois served as a liaison officer, after which he worked in the editorial office of the Croix-de-Fee magazine. Morois participated in and at the beginning of World War II served in the French army. Thanks to the connections of his second wife, in particular to Marshal Pétain, in 1938 Maurois was elected chairman of the prestigious French Academy and held this chair for almost thirty years.

After the occupation of France by the Nazis, he moved with his family to the United States, returning to his native country in 1946. In 1947, the writer legalized his pseudonym. He died in the suburbs of Paris and was buried in the cemetery of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Personal life

In 1909, in Geneva, the writer André Maurois met the daughter of a Polish count, Zhanna Shimkevich, who became his first wife and the mother of his two sons and daughter Michelle. The daughter became a writer, she wrote a trilogy based on many family letters. In 1918, Janine, the writer's wife, suffered a nervous breakdown, and in 1924 she died of sepsis.

In the autumn of the same year, after the publication of the book Dialogues sur le commandement, he was invited to dinner by Marshal Pétain. Here the writer meets Simone de Kailavet, daughter of the playwright Gaston Armand and granddaughter of Madame Armand, owner of a fashionable literary salon and muse of the writer Anatole France. The wedding of Simone and André took place in 1926.

literary heritage

The French writer André Maurois left a rich literary legacy. Despite the fact that he began to write quite early, he published his novels only in 1935. Maurois collected them in the book First Stories. This also included the short story "The Birth of a Celebrity", written by the writer in 1919. The difference between semi-childish stories and this novella is striking.

He published his first book, The Silence of Colonel Bramble, based on his memoirs of the First World War, in 1918. Morois was very demanding of himself, which partly explains the success that his first novel brought. It is difficult to name a genre to which the writer would remain indifferent. Among his legacy are historical studies, novelized biographies, sociological essays, novels for children, psychological novels, and literary essays.

Books by André Maurois

Memories and experiences gained in the First World War formed the basis of two books by the writer Maurois: The Silence of Colonel Bramble, published in 1918, and The Speeches of Dr. O'Grady, published in 1921. In the postwar years, the writer creates psychological novels:

• in 1926 "Bernard Quesnay" is published;
• in 1928, The Vicissitudes of Love was published;
• in 1932, the Family Circle saw the light;
• in 1934 - "Letters to a stranger";
• in 1946 - a collection of stories "Promised Land";
• in 1956 - "September Roses".

The writer's Peru owns a trilogy of the life of English romantics, which was later published under the general title "Romantic England". It included: the book "Ariel" published in 1923, in 1927 and 1930, respectively, "The Life of Disraeli" and "Byron" were published. Literary portraits of French writers comprised four books:

• 1964 - "From La Bruyère to Proust";
• 1963 - "From Proust to Camus";
• 1965 - "From Gide to Sartre";
• 1967 - "From Aragon to Monterlane".

A master of the biographical genre, Morois is the author of books about great people, in which, based on accurate biographical data, he draws their living images:

• 1930 - "Byron";
• 1931 - "Turgenev";
• 1935 - "Voltaire";
• 1937 - "Edward VII";
• 1938 - "Chateaubriand";
• 1949 - "Marcel Proust";
• 1952 - "George Sand";
• 1955 - "Victor Hugo";
• 1957 - "Three Dumas";
• 1959 - "Alexander Fleming";
• 1961 - "The Life of Madame de Lafayette";
• 1965 - "Balzac".

The writer Morois is the author of scientific and journalistic books: this is the History of England, published in 1937, the History of the United States was published in 1943, and the History of France in 1947. The creative heritage of the writer is huge: he owns more than two hundred books and thousands of articles. The collected works of the writer were published in the early 50s in sixteen volumes.

The indisputable quality of Andre Maurois as a writer is a refined psychologism, which is clearly manifested in his works. I would like to finish the article with his words, which sound like a testament to contemporaries: “The artist is obliged to make such an incomprehensible real world understandable. Readers look for high spiritual values ​​and new powers in books. Our duty is to help the reader see a HUMAN in every person.”

French writer, classic of the genre of the biographical novel Andre Maurois; real name - Emil Herzog (Emil Herzog) was born on July 26, 1885 in the town of Elbeuf near Rouen. Morois came from a wealthy Jewish family from Alsace that converted to Catholicism. After 1871, having received French citizenship, the family moved to Normandy. Father André Maurois owned a textile factory. Andre attended the gymnasium of Elbeuf and Rouen. A significant role in shaping Mauroy's views on the world, society, art was played by his school teacher Emile Chartier, a French philosopher, moralist and writer known as Alain.

In 1897, Morois entered the Lycée Corneille in Rouen, after which he entered the University of Cannes. At the same time, he began to work at his father's factory, where from 1903 to 1911. served as an administrator.

During the First World War, André Maurois was a liaison officer with the British forces in France and served as a military interpreter for the British Expeditionary Force. Military impressions served as material for Mauroy's first novels, The Silent Colonel Bramble, 1918, and The Talkative Doctor O'Grady. After the death of his father in 1925, Maurois sold the factory and devoted himself entirely to literary creativity. In the 1920-1930s. André Maurois created a trilogy from the life of English romantics: "Ariel, or the Life of Shelley", "The Life of Disraeli" and "Byron", which was later published under the general title "Romantic England", and released several novels: "Bernard Quesnay", "The Vicissitudes love", "Family circle".

In 1938 André Maurois was elected a member of the French Academy.

When the Second World War began, the writer signed up as a volunteer in the army, and after the occupation of France by German troops, he emigrated to the United States. He taught at the University of Kansas. In 1943 he served with the Allied Forces in North Africa. In 1946 Maurois returned to France.

Close ties of friendship connected Maurois with the pilot and writer Antoine Saint-Exupery. In the autumn of 1939, both left the Ministry of Information to serve in the army. Fate brought them together again in exile in the United States, then in Algeria, liberated from the Germans.

After returning to his homeland, Morois published collections of short stories, the book In Search of Marcel Proust (A la recherche de Marcel Proust, 1949).

Morua's creative heritage is truly enormous - 200 books, more than a thousand articles. Among his works are psychological novels and stories, fantasy novels and travel essays, biographies of great people and literary portraits, historical works and philosophical essays - "Senses and Customs", "Paul Verlaine. Caliban, who was Ariel", popular science works - History of England and History of France.

In the early 50s. 20th century The collected works of André Maurois were published in 16 volumes.

Literary portraits are devoted to French writers, which made up four books by Andre Maurois: "From La Bruyère to Proust" (1964), "From Proust to Camus" (1963), "From Gide to Sartre" (1965), "From Aragon to Monterlane" (1967) ).

In 1956, "Letters to a Stranger" were published in Paris by the publishing house "La Jeune Park". They appeared in Russian in 1974 in an abbreviated form in the journal Foreign Literature.

But, above all, Morois is a master of the biographical genre, where, on the basis of accurate documentation, he draws living images of great people. He won worldwide fame with biographical works "Byron" (1930), "Turgenev" (1931), "Lelia, or the Life of George Sand" (Lelia ou la Vie de George Sand, 1952), "Olympio, or the Life of Victor Hugo", " Three Dumas", "The Life of Alexander Fleming" (1959).

In the year of Mauroy's 80th birthday, he wrote his last biographical work, Prometheus, or the Life of Balzac.

In 1970, Andre Mauroy's book "Memoirs" was published in France, in which the writer spoke about his life, about meetings with such great contemporaries as Roosevelt and Churchill, de Gaulle and Clemenceau, Kipling and Saint-Exupery.

Many of the writer's works have been translated into Russian, including The Vicissitudes of Love, The Family Circle, The Life of Alexander Fleming, Disraeli's Career, Byron, Olympio, or the Life of Victor Hugo, Three Dumas, "Prometheus, or the Life of Balzac", etc.

In the 1960s, Morois willingly appeared on the pages of the Soviet press. He established friendly ties with Soviet writers.

Morua was a member of a number of public organizations, collaborated in democratic publications. He signed the protests of cultural figures against the arrests of the Mexican artist David Siqueiros, the Greek poet Yannis Ritsos.

André Maurois was married twice. After the death of his first wife, Janina de Szimkiewicz, he married Simone de Caive, Marcel Proust's niece.

André Maurois - Literary portraits

The real name of the person whom readers around the world know as André Maurois, – Emil Salomon Wilhelm Erzog. This is a famous French writer, literary critic, historian; he is recognized as an unsurpassed master of writing biographies of famous people in the form of a novel. The creative pseudonym after some time turned into his official name.

Morois was born in Elphebe, a town near Rouen, on July 26, 1885. His family were Alsatian Jews who converted to the Catholic faith, moved to Normandy after 1871 and became French subjects. In 1897, Andre was a student at the Rouen Lyceum, at the age of 16 he became the owner of a licentiate degree. After completing his studies at the Lyceum, he enters the University of Cannes. Almost simultaneously, his career path begins: the young man gets a job at his father's factory and works there as an administrator during 1903-1911.

When the First World War broke out, André Mauroy took part in the hostilities as a liaison officer and military translator. The impressions received in the war helped Morois try his hand at the literary field and became the basis for his first novel, The Silent Colonel Bramble. After its publication in 1918, Maurois learned what success was, and his fame immediately went beyond the borders of his native country, the work was warmly received in Great Britain and America.

After the end of the war, Andre Maurois worked at the editorial office of the Croix de Feu magazine. Inspired by the success of his first novel, the aspiring writer dreamed not of a magazine career, but of a professional literary career. Already in 1921, his new novel, The Speeches of Dr. O'Grady, saw the light of day. When his father died, Morois, having sold the production, from 1925 gave all his strength to the creation of literary works. For 20-30 years. he wrote a trilogy about the lives of the famous English representatives of romanticism - Shelley, Disraeli and Byron. He also wrote a number of other novels. On June 23, 1938, a significant event took place in the life of Maurois: his literary achievements were recognized by his election to the French Academy.

When the Second World War began, the writer volunteered for the active French army, served with the rank of captain; then he was 54 years old. When France was occupied by Nazi troops, Morois moved to the United States, where he worked as a teacher at the University of Kansas. 1943 was marked by a departure to North Africa; homecoming took place in 1946. During this period, Maurois wrote the book In Search of Marcel Proust (1949), collections of short stories.

The writer worked to a ripe old age. In the year of his 80th birthday, he wrote a novel, which became the last in a series of biographical works - Prometheus, or the Life of Balzac (1965). Literally a few days before his death, the last point was put in his memoirs.

The contribution of Andre Maurois to national literature is truly great - two hundred books, as well as more than a thousand articles. He was a multi-genre writer, from his pen came out not only the biographies of great people that glorified him, but also fantastic novels, psychological stories, novels, philosophical essays, historical works, popular science writings. Morois was elected an honorary doctor of the Oxford and Edinburgh universities, was a Knight of the Legion of Honor (1937). The writer also led a fairly active social life, was a member of several public organizations, collaborated with publications of a democratic orientation.

Death overtook Andre Maurois in his own house, located in one of the suburbs of Paris, on October 9, 1967.

Biography from Wikipedia

Andre Maurois(fr. André Maurois, real name Emil Salomon Wilhelm Erzog, Émile-Salomon-Wilhelm Herzog, 1885-1967), French writer and member of the French Academy. Subsequently, the pseudonym became his official name.

Master of the genre of novelized biography (books about Shelley, Byron, Balzac, Turgenev, George Sand, Dumas the father and Dumas the son, Hugo) and a short ironic psychological story. Among the main works of Morois are the psychological novels The Vicissitudes of Love (1928), The Family Circle (1932), the book Memoirs (published in 1970) and embodied all the charm of the subtle, ironic talent of the writer Letters to a Stranger (Lettres à l'inconnue", 1956).

He came from a wealthy family of Jews who converted to Catholicism from Alsace, who after 1871 chose French citizenship and moved to Normandy. In 1897, Emil Erzog entered the Rouen Lyceum. At the age of sixteen he was awarded a licentiate degree. On the advice of one of his teachers, Emile Chartier, after completing the course, instead of continuing his studies at Ecole, Normal entered an employee at his father's cloth factory. During the First World War he served as a military translator and liaison officer. In 1918, Maurois published the novel The Silent Colonel Bramble (French: Les Silences du colonel Bramble), which was successfully received both in France and in Great Britain and the USA. In 1921, the novel The Speeches of Dr. O'Grady (French: Discours du docteur O'Grady) was published. After the war, he worked as an editorial staff member of the Croix-de-feux magazine. June 23, 1938 was elected to the French Academy.

Member of the French Resistance.

During the outbreak of World War II, Morois serves as a captain in the French army. After the occupation of France by German troops, he left for the United States. Worked as a lecturer at the University of Kansas. During this time he wrote biographies of Frédéric Chopin (1942), General Eisenhower (1945), Franklin (1945) and Washington (1946). In 1943, Morois left for North Africa, and in 1946 he returned to France.

Morois argued that "time spent with a woman cannot be called lost."

Family

Was married twice. The first marriage was Jeanne-Marie Wanda Shimkevich, from whom three children were born - Gerald (1920), Olivier and daughter Michelle (1914). Soon after the early death of his first wife (1924) from sepsis, he entered into a second marriage with Simon Cayave, granddaughter of Leontine Armand de Cayyave (née Lippmann), Anatole France's mistress. Relations with his second wife were relatively free, for some time Morois lived separately from her, and his wife knew that he had other mistresses.

Editions in Russian

• Morua A. Three Dumas. - M.: Young Guard, 1962. - 544 p. 1965 ("ZhZL").
• Morua A. The life of Alexander Fleming. Per. from fr. I. Ehrenburg, after I. Kassirsky M .: Young Guard, 1964. - 336 p. ("ZhZL").
• Morua A. Prometheus, or the Life of Balzac. - M.: Progress, 1967. - 640 p.
• Morua A. George Sand. - M.: Young Guard, 1968. - 416 p. ("ZhZL").
• Morua A. Paris. - M.: Art, 1970. - ("Cities and museums of the world").
• Morua A. From Montaigne to Aragon / Per. from fr. Comp. and foreword. F. S. Narkiriera. Comm. S. N. Zenkina. Ed. Z. V. Fedotova. - M.: Raduga, 1983. - 678 p.
• Morua A. The vicissitudes of love. Three novels. Letters to a stranger. - Minsk: Mastatskaya literature, 1988. - 351 p.
• Morua A. Byron. - M.: Young Guard, 2000. - 422 p. ("ZhZL").
• Morua A. France. - St. Petersburg: B. S. G.-Press, 2007. - 272 p.
• Morua A. Holland. - St. Petersburg: B. S. G.-Press, 2007. - 224 p.-7.
• Morua A. History of France. - St. Petersburg: Humanitarian Academy, 2008. - 352 p.
• Morua A. Three Dumas. - M.: AST, AST Moscow, VKT, 2010. - 512 p.-6-2.
• Morua A. Olympio, or the Life of Victor Hugo. - M.: Russia-Cyrillic, 1992. - 528 p.
• Morua A. Prometheus, or the Life of Balzac. - M.: Raduga, 1983. - 672 p.
• Morua A. An open letter to a young man about the science of living
• Morua A. Life of Disraeli. - M.: Politizdat, 1991. - 254 p.
• Morua A. September roses. - St. Petersburg: ABC. 2015 - 220 p.