Pierre Benoit

Born July 16, 1886, in Albi, Tarn Department; died Mar. 3, 1962, in Ciboure, near Saint-Jean-de-Luz. French writer; member of the Académie Francaise (1931).

Benoit spent his childhood in Tunis and Algiers. In 1914 he published the poetry collection Diaduméne, which was dedicated to M. Barres. Benoit’s colonial novels are based on exotic material and are characterized by far fetched psychologism, eroticism, and often mysticism. His colonial novels include Koenigsmark (1918; Russian translation, 1923), Atlantide (1919; Russian translation, 1922), The Sovereign of Livan (1924; Russian translation, 1924), Jacob’s Wells (1925), and others. Later, Benoit published the novels Lost City (1954), Fabrice (1956), and others.