Jean Anouilh

Edward Boothroyd (University of Birmingham)

Ed. by David Houston Jones, University of Exeter
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.07: French Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Born 23 Jun 1910
Died 3 Oct 1987
Activity 1930-1987

Places

Born in France
Active in France

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Other

Film/TV Script-writer/ Screenwriter
Librettist
Theatre Director

Resources

Anouilh's Works

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Constructing an overview of Jean Anouilh’s life is no mean feat, given his reluctance to reveal anything on the topic; his “memoirs”, published in 1987, are mostly anecdotes and

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. In a letter to Hubert Gignoux in 1946, Anouilh famously stated: “je n’ai pas de biographie, et j’en suis très content” [I have no biography and that suits me very well]. However, we can establish that he was born 23 June 1910 in Bordeaux to working class parents. His father was a tailor and his mother a piano teacher. From the age of twelve Anouilh drafted plays in verse, inspired by first-half performances of his mother’s shows at the Casino d’Arcachon before bedtime. Anouilh also wished to emulate his father’s artisanship, describing himself as a “fabricant de pièces”…

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Citation: Boothroyd, Edward. "Jean Anouilh". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 July 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=119, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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