A Brief Biography: Roger Martin du Gard

R.M. du Gard was born into a prominent upper-class family. Throughout his writing career, du Gard would document the values, expectations and conflicts of members of this class.

Du Gard spent his childhood in Paris, where he attended several schools; but, due to his poor scholastic performance, he only completed the equivalency of a high school education through the diligent instruction of a private tutor, who introduced him to te writings of renowned authors.

Of those early works, Tolstoy's "War and Peace" had the most dramatic impact on Du Gard's desire to become a writer. In addition to Tolstoy's monumental masterpiece, he also studied the structure of Tolstoy's other novels, with an eagerness to learn from the style of his literary idol.

Of course, as often seems to be the case, his family was against his creative ambitions. They insisted that he direct his studies in a more practical direction. Du Gard gave in; but the familial demands placed upon him only contributed to more tension and conflict in the family. He began his attendance at Sorbonne University, but his studies were interruped by a stint of mandatory service in the French military. After the period of military enlistment was finished, he was able to complete his studies in 1905, with a degree in archaology.

Self-critical and leaning toward perfectionism, du Gard abandoned work at his first novel. He would become known for destroying his manuscripts. "Jean Barois" was his first successful novel. Andre Gide praised the novel, and the work would influence the the thought and ideas of a younger generation in France.

Du Gard's experiences as a World War I soldier caused him to become an ardent pacifist; however, he put aside the idea of socialism when he came to believe that it conflicted with the idea of individualism.

Interested in philosophy, du Gard associated with intellectuals of his age. And, his contemporaries would have described him as polite, reserved, tolerant, and very intelligent. Illness caused him to withdraw more from society, and he is remembered as a master of objectivity and realism... But for what is he known?

Although the theatre fascinated du Gard (several of his plays were performed), his passion was in writing novels. Between 1922 and 1929, he wrote six novels, known collectively as "The Thibaults." In "Summer 1914" (1936), he offered a sequel. For his brilliant saga of the Thibalt family, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1937. And, by 1940, he published the final sequel in "Epilogue."