Maurice Druon

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Maurice Druon (born April 23 1918) is a French novelist and member of Académie française.

Maurice Druon was born in Paris. He is the nephew of the writer Joseph Kessel, with whom he wrote Chant des Partisans, which, with music composed by Anna Marly, was used by the French Resistance during the Second World War.

On December 8, 1966, he was elected the 30th president of Académie française, succeeding George Duhamel.

While his scholarly writing earned him a seat at the Académie, he is best known for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1960s under the title Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings).

The novels take place during the reigns of the last five Capetian kings and the first two Valois kings, from Philip the Fair to John II. The plot revolves around Robert d'Artois's attempts to reclaim the county of Artois from his aunt Mahaut.

The books were written in vernacular French, as opposed to literary French, the characters were drawn larger than life, the plot line was kept simple, and many historical facts gave way to dramatic necessities. Also, the work displayed a 20th century nationalistic mood which did not exist in medieval times.

In the 1970s an outstanding TV mini-series was made out of Les rois maudits, thought by many to be the greatest such production in French. Some of the best French actors from the stage and screen were involved, delivering fine performances. The production relied on crisp dialogue and theatrical performances for dramatic effect, rather than on lavish realistic sets. Sets and costumes were kept minimal, giving the audience the feel of a small theater production, finely done and artfully lighted. On the whole it was a nearly flawless production which became even more famous than the original books.

fr:Maurice Druon