Roger Vercel

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Roger Vercel 1934

Roger Vercel (* as Roger Cretin, January 8, 1894 in Le Mans , † February 26, 1957 in Dinan ) was a French writer, best known for novels with a maritime background and his war novel Capitaine Conan .

Vercel studied literature in Caen, interrupted by the First World War. Since he could not see well, he was initially a medic, but then, due to the lack of officers, he completed an officer training course in Saint Cyr. In 1921 he became a high school professor of literature in Dinan and in 1927 he received his doctorate (dissertation: Les images dans l'œuvre de Corneille, in addition to this he published a comparative lexicon of images by Jean Racine and Pierre Corneille ). For this he received the Prix Santour of the Académie française.

Some of his novels were inspired by his experiences during World War I (Notre père Trajan, Capitaine Conan, Léna), but most were about seafaring (although he himself had no particular ties to it). He also wrote biographies and historical works (for example about Bertrand du Guesclin , which was made into a film) and non-fiction books, for example about French ports and Brittany.

In 1934 he received the Prix ​​Goncourt for Capitaine Conan , which is partly autobiographical. It was made into a film by Bertrand Tavernier in 1996 ( Captain Conan and the Wolves of War ). His book Au Large de l'Eden received the prize of the Franco-American Prix Femina Committee in 1932.

Works (selection)

  • Notre père Trajan, Albin Michel, 1930.
  • En Dérive, Albin Michel, 1931.
  • Au Large de l'Eden, Albin Michel, 1932.
  • Le maître du rêve, Albin Michel, 1933.
  • Capitaine Conan, Albin Michel, 1934.
    • German edition: Capitaine Conan, Berlin, Resistance-Verlag 1935, Berlin: G. Weise 1938
  • Remorques, Albin Michel, 1935. Les Bibliophiles de France, 1957
  • Léna, Albin Michel, 1936.
  • Sous le pied de l'archange, Albin Michel, 1937.
  • Jean Villemeur, Albin Michel, 1939.
  • La Hourie, Albin Michel, 1942.
  • Aurore boréale, Albin Michel, 1947.
  • La caravane de Pâques, Albin Michel, 1948 (on the inhabitants of Cancale between the world wars)
  • La fosse aux vents:
    • I.- Ceux de la Galatée, Albin Michel, 1949.
    • II.- La peau du Diable, Albin Michel, 1950.
    • II.- Atalante, Albin Michel, 1951.
  • Visage perdu, Albin Michel, 1953.
  • L'Île des revenants, Albin Michel, 1954.
  • Été indien, Albin Michel, 1956.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vercel, Roger
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cretin, Roger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French writer and literary scholar
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Le Mans
DATE OF DEATH February 26, 1957
Place of death Dinan