Paul Morand

Born in Paris in 1888, he studied at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and went on to serve in the French diplomatic corps. Alongside that career, he built a major literary reputation with novels, stories, and travel books, and was often linked with early literary modernism for his brisk, vivid style and fascination with speed, cities, and international life.

Morand wrote prolifically across the first half of the 20th century, and his work often captured the glamour and movement of Europe between the wars. He was elected to the Académie française late in life, in 1968, after years of controversy surrounding his conduct during the Second World War and the Vichy era.

He died in 1976. Readers still return to his books for their energy, polish, and sense of place, even as his life and views continue to provoke debate.