Pierre-Jules Renard ([pjÉ›Ê .Ê'yl Ê É™.naÊ ]; 22 February 1864 â€" 22
May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt,
most famous for the works Poil de carotte (Carrot Top, 1894) and Les
Histoires Naturelles (Nature Stories, 1896). Among his other works are
Le Plaisir de rompre (The Pleasure of Breaking, 1898) and the
posthumously published Huit Jours à la campagne (A Week in the
Country, 1912).The child of François Renard and Anna-Rose Colin,
Renard was born in Châlons-du-Maine, Mayenne where his father was
working on the construction of a railroad. Renard grew up in
Chitry-les-Mines, (Nièvre). He had three older siblings including
Amélie (born 1858), who died at a young age. A second sister was also
named Amélie (born 1859). A third child, Maurice, was born before
Pierre-Jules in 1862. Renard's childhood was characterized as
difficult and sad (un grand silence roux or "a great ruddy silence").
Although he decided not to attend the prestigious École normale
supérieure, love of literature would eventually dominate his life.
From 1885â€"86, he served in the military in Bourges.On 28 April 1888,
Renard married Marie Morneau.[1] He and his wife lived at 43 rue du
Rocher in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. He began to frequent
literary cafés and to contribute to Parisian newspapers. Among his
steady friends were Alfred Capus and Lucien Guitry. Jules Renard wrote
poems, short stories, short plays, novels and his famous Poil de
carotte. He was elected mayor (maire) of Chitry on 15 May 1904 as the
socialist candidate and became a member of the Académie Goncourt in
1907, thanks to Octave Mirbeau. He died of arteriosclerosis in
Paris.Some of Jules Renard's works take their inspiration from the
countryside he loved in the Nièvre region.[2] His character portraits
are sharp, ironic and sometimes cruel (in his Histoires naturelles he
humanizes animals and animalizes men) and he was an active supporter
of pacifism and anticlericalism (apparent in La Bigote).[3][4]
May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt,
most famous for the works Poil de carotte (Carrot Top, 1894) and Les
Histoires Naturelles (Nature Stories, 1896). Among his other works are
Le Plaisir de rompre (The Pleasure of Breaking, 1898) and the
posthumously published Huit Jours à la campagne (A Week in the
Country, 1912).The child of François Renard and Anna-Rose Colin,
Renard was born in Châlons-du-Maine, Mayenne where his father was
working on the construction of a railroad. Renard grew up in
Chitry-les-Mines, (Nièvre). He had three older siblings including
Amélie (born 1858), who died at a young age. A second sister was also
named Amélie (born 1859). A third child, Maurice, was born before
Pierre-Jules in 1862. Renard's childhood was characterized as
difficult and sad (un grand silence roux or "a great ruddy silence").
Although he decided not to attend the prestigious École normale
supérieure, love of literature would eventually dominate his life.
From 1885â€"86, he served in the military in Bourges.On 28 April 1888,
Renard married Marie Morneau.[1] He and his wife lived at 43 rue du
Rocher in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. He began to frequent
literary cafés and to contribute to Parisian newspapers. Among his
steady friends were Alfred Capus and Lucien Guitry. Jules Renard wrote
poems, short stories, short plays, novels and his famous Poil de
carotte. He was elected mayor (maire) of Chitry on 15 May 1904 as the
socialist candidate and became a member of the Académie Goncourt in
1907, thanks to Octave Mirbeau. He died of arteriosclerosis in
Paris.Some of Jules Renard's works take their inspiration from the
countryside he loved in the Nièvre region.[2] His character portraits
are sharp, ironic and sometimes cruel (in his Histoires naturelles he
humanizes animals and animalizes men) and he was an active supporter
of pacifism and anticlericalism (apparent in La Bigote).[3][4]
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