Jean Giono

Jean Giono (1895-1970) lived all his life in the town of Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. After witnessing firsthand the horrors of WWI, he became a fervent pacifist. In 1929, his first novel, Hill, won the inaugural Prix Brentano. Giono would go on to write thirty works of fiction and co-translate Moby-Dick. During WWII, his pacifism led to (unjust) accusations of defeatism and collaboration, and imprisonment without charges. He regained acclaim with his historical novel The Horseman on the Roof. Giono was awarded the Prix Monégasque in 1953 for his life’s work and a year later was elected to the Académie Goncourt.