Fun Facts Friday: André Maurois

André Maurois (26 July, 1885 – 9 October, 1967) was a French writer known for his vivid and witty narrative. His book The Quest for Proust (À la Recherche de Marcel Proust) is considered his finest work.

Books by André Maurois*

Fun Facts about André Maurois:

1. Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog was born in Elbeuf, France to Ernest and Alice Herzog. The Herzog family were Jewish refugees from eastern France in 1870 and now owned a textile mill. Despite escaping, the family was prosperous.
2. The Herzog family patriarch, Ernest’s father, brought his entire workforce from Alsace with him when they relocated the mill due to the Franco-Prussian War. Later on, he was admitted to the Legion of Honor for saving a French industry.
3. During World War I, he served as an interpreter to a young Lt. Col. Named Winston Churchill. Once he was done with that assignment, he became a liaison officer between the French and British armies.
4. The Silence of Colonel Bramble (Les silences du colonel Bramble), was André Maurois’ first big success. The book, which was successfully translated into English, talked about his experience as a liaison officer, with wit and charm.
5. Many of his books were translated to English, but his romanticized books about Disraeli, Lord Byron, Balzac, and more were a favorite of readers and reviewers.
6. Other novels focused on marriage, family, and regional life.
7. In 1938, André Maurois was elected to the French Academy (Académie française) assisted by no other than the French hero Marshal Phillippe Pétain which history has not been kind to.
8. Always the gentleman, the author thanked Marshal Pétain in his 1941 biography Call No Man Happy, while he was the head of Vichy France.
9. During World War II André Maurois was appointed as a French Official Observer attached to the British General Headquarters. Later he served with the Free French Forces and the French Army.
10. André Maurois was married twice. His first wife an Oxford-educated Polish aristocrat named Jeanne-Marie Wanda de Szymkiewicz died in 1924 after a breakdown. Simone de Caillavet was his second wife and the couple lived in the United States for a while after France fell n 1940 to help with propaganda work against the Nazis.

Books by André Maurois*

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Sources:

André Maurois | Wikipedia

André Maurois (1885-1967) – pseudonym of ÉMILE SALOMON WILHELM HERZOG | Author’s Calendar

André Maurois: French author | Britannica