Alain-Fournier

Alain-Fournier (älăN-frnyā`), 1886–1914, French novelist, whose real name was Henri Alban Fournier. He was killed in action during World War I. His single full-length work is his poetic novel about a youthful search for the ideal, Le Grand Meaulnes (1913, tr. The Wanderer, 1928). Set in an imaginary locale called "the domain," it is based partly on Alain-Fournier's own childhood and partly on his mystical experiences and ideas. Its distinctiveness lies in its delicate blend of symbolism and realism.

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Alain-Fournier

real name Henri-Alban Fournier. 1886--1914, French novelist; author of Le Grand Meaulnes (1913; translated as The Lost Domain, 1959)

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Alain-Fournier 

(pseudonym of Henri Fournier). Born Oct. 30, 1886, in La Chapelle d’Angillon; died Sept. 22, 1914, at Eparge, Near Verdun. French writer. Died at the front at the beginning of World War I. Author of verses, essays, short stories, which were collected in the book Miracles (1924).

The only large finished work of Alain-Fournier is the novel Le Grand Meaulnes (1913). Written in a lyric manner—as reminiscences of the childhood years, schooling, games, and thoughts of adolescents—the novel combines a tense, dynamic plot and romantic intrigue with the realistic portrayal of French provincial life. The traditional “story of a young man” in bourgeois society is revealed by Alain-Fournier in a democratic spirit.

WORKS

In Russian translation:
Bol’shoi Mol’n. Moscow, 1960. (Introduction by L. Zonina.)

REFERENCES

Borgal, C. Alain-Fournier. Paris, [1956].
Delettrez, J. M. Alain-Fournier et Le Grand Meaulnes. Paris, [1954].
Bruzeau, M. “Dans la chambre du Grand Meaulnes.” Europe, 1961. Feb.-Mar., nos. 382–383.
Dédéyan, C. Alain-Fournier et la réalité secrete. Paris, 1967.

M. N. VAKSMAKHER