Jean Giono

Jean Giono (1895-1970) is a French novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of numerous books on the theme of Provençal rurality. His works combine a natural humanism with a violent revolt against 20th century society. Jean Giono was born into a modest family of Piedmontese origin. Being the only son of a shoemaker and a laundress, he left school at 16 to support his family. He works in a bank while educating himself. At 35 he published Colline (1929), his second novel, the first having been refused (the very joyful Naissance de l’Odyssée was, however, published in 1930). Inspired by his imagination and his visions of Ancient Greece, his romantic work depicts the condition of Man in the world, faced with moral and metaphysical questions and has a universal scope.
In 1939, a pre-war period, Jean Giono campaigned for peace. Elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1954, he travels, diversifies his production with travelogues, legal reports, mood notes given to newspapers, and even launches into the production of screenplays for the cinema.