author
Abel Hermant
1862–1950
A prolific French man of letters, he wrote novels, plays, essays, and journalism with a sharp, observant style. His career brought major literary honors, but it also ended in lasting controversy after World War II.
1 Audiobook
Les Confidences d'une Biche, 1859-1871
by Abel Hermant
About the author
Born in Paris on February 3, 1862, Abel Hermant became known as a French novelist, playwright, essayist, and journalist. He studied at the École Normale Supérieure before turning fully to literature, and over the course of his career he produced a large body of work that included fiction, theater, essays, and newspaper writing.
Hermant was elected to the Académie française in 1927, a sign of the high regard he enjoyed in French literary life. Readers and critics noted his polished, often ironic writing, and he remained a visible public literary figure for decades.
His reputation was later deeply damaged by his conduct during the German occupation of France. After World War II, he was convicted for collaboration and excluded from the Académie française. He died in 1950, leaving behind both an extensive bibliography and a complicated place in French literary history.