Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (French: [Ê'iÊ odu]; 29 October 1882 â€" 31
January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and
playwright. He is considered among the most important French
dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II.[1] His
work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy.
Giraudoux's dominant theme is the relationship between man and
womanâ€"or in some cases, between man and some unattainable
ideal.Giraudoux was born in Bellac, Haute-Vienne, where his father,
Léger Giraudoux, worked for the Ministry of Transport. Giraudoux
studied at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux and upon graduation traveled
extensively in Europe. After his return to France in 1910, he accepted
a position with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With the outbreak of
World War I, he served with distinction and in 1915 became the first
writer ever to be awarded the wartime Legion of Honour.[2]He married
in 1918 and in the subsequent inter-war period produced the majority
of his writing. He first achieved literary success through his novels,
notably Siegfried et le Limousin (1922) and Eglantine (1927). An
ongoing collaboration with actor and theater director Louis Jouvet,
beginning in 1928 with Jouvet's radical streamlining of Siegfried for
the stage, stimulated his writing.[3] But it is his plays that gained
him international renown. He became well known in the English speaking
world largely because of the award-winning adaptations of his plays by
Christopher Fry (Tiger at the Gates) and Maurice Valency (The Madwoman
of Chaillot, Ondine, The Enchanted, The Apollo of Bellac).Giraudoux
served as a juror with Florence Meyer Blumenthal in awarding the Prix
Blumenthal, a grant given between 1919 and 1954 to painters,
sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.[4] In
politics he was affiliated with the Radical Party, served in the
cabinet of Édouard Herriot in 1932, and was appointed as Minister of
Information by Édouard Daladier in 1939.[5][6]
January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and
playwright. He is considered among the most important French
dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II.[1] His
work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy.
Giraudoux's dominant theme is the relationship between man and
womanâ€"or in some cases, between man and some unattainable
ideal.Giraudoux was born in Bellac, Haute-Vienne, where his father,
Léger Giraudoux, worked for the Ministry of Transport. Giraudoux
studied at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux and upon graduation traveled
extensively in Europe. After his return to France in 1910, he accepted
a position with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With the outbreak of
World War I, he served with distinction and in 1915 became the first
writer ever to be awarded the wartime Legion of Honour.[2]He married
in 1918 and in the subsequent inter-war period produced the majority
of his writing. He first achieved literary success through his novels,
notably Siegfried et le Limousin (1922) and Eglantine (1927). An
ongoing collaboration with actor and theater director Louis Jouvet,
beginning in 1928 with Jouvet's radical streamlining of Siegfried for
the stage, stimulated his writing.[3] But it is his plays that gained
him international renown. He became well known in the English speaking
world largely because of the award-winning adaptations of his plays by
Christopher Fry (Tiger at the Gates) and Maurice Valency (The Madwoman
of Chaillot, Ondine, The Enchanted, The Apollo of Bellac).Giraudoux
served as a juror with Florence Meyer Blumenthal in awarding the Prix
Blumenthal, a grant given between 1919 and 1954 to painters,
sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.[4] In
politics he was affiliated with the Radical Party, served in the
cabinet of Édouard Herriot in 1932, and was appointed as Minister of
Information by Édouard Daladier in 1939.[5][6]
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.