The Diary of a Country Priest earned Georges Bernanos the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1936, solidifying his reputation as a writer concerned with spiritual struggle. Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris in 1888, the novelist spent his early years in the village of Fressin, which provided a recurring landscape for his fiction.
Military Service and Literary Emergence
Bernanos served as a soldier during World War I, fighting in the battles of the Somme and Verdun, where he sustained multiple wounds. Following the conflict, he worked in the insurance industry before achieving literary recognition. His breakthrough novel, Sous le soleil de Satan, was published in 1926. This work, alongside his subsequent fiction, established his career as a novelist and essayist.
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Formerly associated with the monarchist movement through the Camelots du Roi, Bernanos broke ties with the Action Française in 1932. While he initially viewed the Spanish Civil War with interest, he denounced the violence he witnessed in Mallorca, detailing his objections in the 1938 book Diary of My Times. In 1938, he emigrated to Brazil with his family, residing in Barbacena, Minas Gerais, until 1945. Throughout the war years, he maintained a critical stance toward the Vichy regime and advocated for the Free French forces led by Charles De Gaulle.
Return and Final Works
After the liberation of France, De Gaulle invited him to return and take a government post. Bernanos returned but declined to participate in political life, finding the post-war climate lacking in the renewal he had hoped for. His later output included the posthumously published Un mauvais rêve and the play Dialogues des carmélites, which was adapted into an opera by Francis Poulenc and performed at La Scala in 1957. He died in 1948 in Neuilly-sur-Seine and is buried at the Cimetière de Pellevoisin.
Fast facts
- Born: 1888, 9th arrondissement of Paris
- Died: 1948, Neuilly-sur-Seine
- Citizenship: France
- Notable Works: The Diary of a Country Priest, Joy, Mouchette
- Awards: Prix Femina (1929), Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française (1936)
- Posthumous Honor: Grand Prize for the Best Novels of the Half-Century (1950)
- Religion: Catholicism
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Bernanos explore in his novels?
His novels frequently center on the struggles of characters, including parish priests, who confront evil and despair.
Did Bernanos return to France after his exile in Brazil?
Yes, he returned to France after World War II at the invitation of Charles De Gaulle but declined to engage in an active political role.
Achievements
- Grand Prize for the Best Novels of the Half-Century — 1950
- Notable work: Joy
- Notable work: Mouchette
- Notable work: The Diary of a Country Priest
- Genres: essay
