author
Gaston Riou
1883–1958
A French writer and politician from Ardèche, he turned his experience of the First World War into vivid, widely read books and later became known for his pacifist and European-minded ideas. His life moved between literature, public debate, and national politics in a turbulent era.
1 Audiobook
The Diary of a French Private: War-Imprisonment, 1914-1915
by Gaston Riou
About the author
Born on January 7, 1883, in Vernoux-en-Vivarais in Ardèche, Gaston Riou was a French writer who began publishing before the First World War. He came from the Ardèche region, remained closely tied to it throughout his life, and built a career as both a man of letters and a public figure.
Riou served at the front during the First World War, and that experience fed directly into his writing. He is especially remembered for war-related works including Journal d’un simple soldat, which helped bring him a broad readership. His books and essays also reflected larger questions of politics, society, peace, and Europe.
Alongside his literary work, Riou entered politics and served as a deputy for Ardèche from 1936 to 1942. He died on July 12, 1958, in Lablachère, also in Ardèche. Today he is remembered as a writer whose work was shaped by war, civic life, and a strong attachment to his home region.