biography of the author of The glory of my father

French writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol began with plays: Marius, Topaze … adapted to cinema. He wrote autobiographical books: The glory of my management, The castle of my mother …

Short biography of Marcel Pagnol – Born February 28, 1895 in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône), Marcel Pagnol studied literature at the University of Aix-en-Provence before settling in Paris to become a writer. In 1924, he started writing plays. The first “Marchands de Gloire” gets bad reviews, but Marcel Pagnol does not let himself be defeated and writes his second piece “Topaz” then “Marius“which will be real successes. In 1926, he took a keen interest in cinema after attending a screening in London of one of the first films about the era” Broadway Melodies “. Critics will not be kind to him , because we do not expect it on this ground. Once again, Marcel Pagnol is not discouraged and takes up the challenge by supervising the adaptation of his play “Marius” to the cinema. A triumph!

In 1936, Marcel Pagnol directed the film “Caesar“. He attaches great importance to the quality of the sound and the dialogues of his films, and quickly he becomes a respected director. Marcel Pagnol is the author of many successes like” Jofroi “,” Regain “and”The Baker’s Wife“. After his meeting with Jacqueline Bouvier, who will become his wife, he stages her in”Manon des Sources“. In 1946, Marcel Pagnol naturally obtained a place at the French Academy and in 1960, he chaired the Cannes Film Festival. In 1954, following the death of his 4-year-old daughter, Estelle, he retired from the cinema to devote to writing autobiographical novels Marcel Pagnol died on April 18, 1974, in his house on Avenue Foch in Paris.

Marcel Pagnol married twice. On March 2, 1916, he married Simonne Collin, but the childless couple separated in 1926. Their divorce was pronounced in 1941. Then, Marcel Pagnol married his muse Jacqueline Bouvier October 6, 1945. Two children were born from this union, Frédéric in 1946 and Estelle in 1954. Despite a married life that seemed rather stable, Marcel Pagnol was nevertheless the father of three other children. The writer has indeed experienced a more volatile period between his two marriages. From 1930, the young English dancer Kitty murphy gives birth to Jacques Pagnol. In 1933, the actress Orane Demazis also gives a son to Marcel Pagnol. His name is Jean-Pierre Burgart, after his mother’s name. In 1936, Francine Pagnol was born from her love with Yvonne Pouperon, his secretary. During World War II, Marcel Pagnol shares his life with another of his great loves, Josette day.

Autobiographical novel, “The glory of my father” is written by Marcel Pagnol in 1957. It is a period of his life when the writer left the world of cinema, just after the death of his daughter, Estelle, in 1954. He devotes himself to his “Childhood memories“a series of four books of which” The glory of my father “is the first volume. The same year will follow” Le Château de ma mère “,” Le Temps des secrets “in 1960 and” Le Temps des amours “in 1977. In this first opus, Marcel Pagnol recounts his early childhood with his mother Augustine, his brothers and sisters, and his father Joseph, a schoolteacher.He also recounts his holidays in the Provençal scrubland where his family rented a country house.

Marcel Pagnol: key dates

February 28, 1895: Birth of Marcel Pagnol

Born February 28, 1895, in Aubagne, Marcel Pagnol revealed himself with the publication of the play Marius, in March 1929. A playwright, he diversified by creating a film production company in Marseille in 1934. Abandoning the theater and the cinema, he writes the successful novels “The glory of my father”, or, “The castle of my mother”, drawing inspiration from his childhood memories.

April 18, 1974: Death of Marcel Pagnol

Marcel Pagnol became an academician in 1946 and died on April 18, 1974 in Paris.