Françoise Mallet-Joris
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Françoise Mallet-Joris (b. Antwerp, July 6, 1930) is the nom de plume of Françoise Lilar.
She is the daughter of Suzanne Lilar, who was also a writer, and the sister of the 18th century art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar. Mallet-Joris spent two years in America before going to Paris, France, where she attended the Sorbonne, and where she currently resides.
She is a prolific writer who was a member of the Prix Femina committee from 1969 to 1971 when she was appointed to the Académie Goncourt.
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[edit] Literary Debut
Mallet-Joris began her literary career early with the publication of Le rempart des Béguines in 1951. It was translated as The Illusionist. It is set in a town that resembles Mallet-Joris' native Antwerp and treats the themes of social class and lesbianism. She followed her first work with a sequel in 1955 named La chambre rouge, in English The Red Room. In it, she continued her treatment of social class and mores in Belgium.
[edit] Themes
Mallet-Joris' novels deal with interpersonal relationships and social class in France and Belgium. Often, characters must deal with disappointment as they realize they have unrealistic expectations. She also depicts social climbers and deceitful characters.
In Allegra (1976) Mallet-Joris tackled the themes of racism and feminism in France.
She has also written works of non fiction, like The Uncompromising Heart: A Life of Marie Mancini, Louis XIV's First Love in 1964, and she has written essays about her philosophy of life and writing in Lettre à moi-même (A Letter to Myself) in 1963 and La Maison de papier (The Paper House) in 1970.
[edit] Literary Awards
Mallet-Joris won the "Librarians' Prize" (Prix des bibliothécaires) in 1958 for House of Lies (in French, the title was Les mensonges which means simply "Lies"), the Femina Prize in 1958 for Café Céleste (in French, it was called L'empire céleste which means "Heavenly Empire" or "Celestial Empire", a title that is highly ironic) and the Monaco Prize in 1964 for her biography of Marie Mancini.
[edit] Other works
Mallet-Joris has been a prolific writer. Below is just a partial list of titles not mentioned above with their English translations.
- 1958: Cordélia (a collection of short stories);
- 1966: Les signes et les prodiges (Signs and Wonders)
- 1968: Trois âges de la nuit (The Witches)
- 1973: Le jeu du souterrain (The Underground Game)
- 1978: Jeanne Guyon (a biography)
- 1980: Dickie-Roi
- 1985: Le rire de Laura (Laura's Laugh)
- 1990: Adriana Sposa
- 1993: Divine
