Henry Bordeaux

Born in Thonon-les-Bains on January 25, 1870, Henry Bordeaux studied law in Paris and first followed the family profession as a lawyer. After practicing for a few years, he turned fully to literature around 1900 and began the career that made him one of the best-known French novelists of his time.

Much of his work is set in Savoy, and his novels return again and again to home, inheritance, moral choice, and the bonds of family. Among his notable books are Le Pays natal, La Peur de vivre, Les Roquevillard, La Robe de laine, La Neige sur les pas, and La Maison. He also wrote short fiction, criticism, and a long memoir sequence published under the title Histoire d’une vie.

Bordeaux was elected to the Académie française in 1919 and remained a member for more than four decades, eventually becoming its senior member by age and election. He died on March 29, 1963.