Brisville, Jean-Claude 1922–

(Jean-Claude Gabriel Brisville)

PERSONAL: Born May 28, 1922, in Bois-Colombes/Hautes-de-Seine, France; son of Maurice and Geneviève (Gineste) Brisville; married second wife, Irène Kalaschnikowa, 1963; children: (first marriage) one son, one daughter. Education: Attended Lycée Jacques Decour, Paris, France.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Éditions Stock, 31 rue de Fleurus, 75006 Paris, France.

CAREER: Reader for Hachette (publishing house), 1951–58; personal secretary to Albert Camus, 1957–58; Julliard (publishing house), Paris, France, deputy literary director, 1959–64, literary director, 1964–70; ORTF, head of drama video section, 1971–75; Livre de Poche (publishing house), literary director, 1976–81.

AWARDS, HONORS: Prix Sainte-Beuve, for D'un amour; Prix Ibsen and Prix de la Meilleure Création Dramatique, both for Le Fauteuil à bascule; Prix du Théâtre, Academie Française, for Le souper; Chevalier Légion d'Honneur; Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres; Prix du Théâtre de la Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques, SACD.

WRITINGS:

A la rencontre de Julien Green, La Sixaine (Brussels, Belgium), 1947.

Prologue (novel), Julliard (Paris, France), 1948.

La présence réelle, Gallimard (Paris, France), 1954.

D'un amour, Gallimard (Paris, France), 1954, reprinted, Stock (Paris, France), 1993.

Saint-Just (three-act play), Grasset (Paris, France), 1955.

Camus, Gallimard (Paris, France), 1959.

La fuite au Danemark (novel), R. Julliard (Paris, France), 1962.

Le rôdeur (three plays), Gallimard (Paris, France), 1970.

Un hiver dans la vie de Gros Ours (for children), illustrated by Danièle Bour, Grasset (Paris, France), 1973, new edition, 1983, translated by Anita Mondello as Big Bear, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1973, translated by Peggy Blakeley as The Dancer, the Bear and the Nobody Boy, A. & C. Black (London, England), 1975.

Lançons le çerf-volant: deuxieme aventure, illustrated by Nicole Claveloux, Grasset (Paris, France), 1975.

La zone d'ombre, A. Michel (Paris, France), 1977.

Oleg, le leopard des neiges (for children), illustrated by Danièl Bour, Grasset (Paris, France), 1978, translated by Anthea Bell as Oleg, the Snow Leopard, Gollancz (London, England), 1978.

Oleg retrouve son royaume (for children), illustrated by Danièl Bour, Grasset/Fasquelle (Paris, France), 1981, translated as King Oleg, Gollancz (London, England), 1982.

La révélation d'une voix et d'un nom, P. Belfond (Paris, France), 1982.

Le fauteuil à bascule (produced at Petit-Odéon, 1982), L'Avant Scène (Paris, France), 1983.

Le bonheur à Romorantin (produced at Théâtre des Mathurins, 1983), Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1997.

L'entretien de M. Descartes avec M. Pascal le jeune (play; produced at Petit-Odéon, 1985; also see below), Papiers (Paris, France), 1986.

La villa bleue (produced at L'Espace Cardin, 1986), Papiers (Paris, France), 1986.

(Translator) Christopher Hampton, Les liaisons dan-gereuses (produced at Théâtre Édouard VII, 1988), Papiers (Paris, France), 1988.

Le souper (play; produced at Théâtre Montparnasse, 1989; also see below), Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1989.

(Translator) Férenc Molnàr, L'officier de la garde (play; produced at the Comédie des ChampsÉlysées, 1990), Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1990.

L'antichambre (play; produced at l'Atelier, 1991; also see below), Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1991.

Contre-jour (play; produced at Studio des Champs-Élysées, 1993), Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1993.

La petite Marie (novel), Stock (Paris, France), 1993.

Le souper; suivi de L'entretien de M. Descartes avec M. Pascal le jeune et de L'antichambre, Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1994.

Le dernière salve (play; produced as Théâtre Montparnasse, 1995), Actes Sud (Arles, France), 1995.

(With Edouard Molinaro) Beaumarchais, l'insolent (screenplay), Gallimard (Paris, France), 1996, translated film produced as Beaumarchais, the Scoundrel, 1997.

De mémoire, Stock (Paris, France), 1998.

Vive Henri IV (novel), Fallois (Paris, France), 2001.

Quartiers d'hiver, Fallois (Paris, France), 2005.

Also author of preface to Contes et romans, by Voltaire, Éditions Rencontre, 1968.

SIDELIGHTS: French playwright, novelist, and children's author Jean-Claude Brisville is best known in the United States for his juvenile titles, since, with the exception of the 1997 film Beaumarchais, the Scoundrel, these are the only titles that have been translated into English. Brisville's Oleg, the Snow Leopard and King Oleg are animal tales about the adventures of a snow leopard named Oleg. In the former, Oleg flees his kingdom after being wounded by hunters, finding assistance from various animals such as a seal and a bear; in the sequel, Oleg has recovered and returns to his kingdom to find that his throne has been usurped by a cheetah. Reviewing Oleg, the Snow Leopard, a Junior Bookshelf critic called the tale "a pleasant, at times amusing, animal fantasy." School Library Journal reviewer Katharyn F. Crabbe praised the author for the way he "manages to give each animal a distinctive character."

Compared to his simple animal tales for children, Brisville's novels for adults are complex and challenging, according to critics. La zone d'ombre, for example, seems at first glance to be another story about a man who has lost his true love. Madeleine Rumeau-Smith, writing in World Literature Today, reported that the direction in which Brisville takes this basic premise proves to be "truly original." Unable to bring himself to commit suicide, the jilted protagonist instead tries to find solace in writing. This, too, however, fails as a form of therapy, and in a "skillful evocation of a double failure," Brisville concludes that both love and writing become mere illusions.

Brisville's La révélation d'une voix et d'un nom is about an attempt to uncover a lost revelation written in the time of Jesus Christ by Simon the Magician. Several characters in the novel go in search of the Gnostic text written by Simon—a real historical figure—and the narrator of the book eventually reveals its location accidentally to the others. The actual center of the book, however, is not the quest itself but rather the narrator's attempts to record it, thus creating a book about a book. French Review critic Robin Knee pointed out this play on reality versus fiction by the author, observing that the title of Brisville's novel is the same as that of Simon's mystical text: "Since Simon is a historical figure, the relationship between fiction and reality is brought to bear. The motif of the search for the original word/Word underscores writing as the central focus of the text."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

French Review, December, 1984, Robin Knee, review of La révélation d'une voix et d'un nom, p. 305.

Junior Bookshelf, June, 1979, review of Oleg, the Snow Leopard, p. 153; August, 1982, review of King Oleg, p. 129.

National Review, December 8, 1997, John Simon, review of Beaumarchais, l'insolent, p. 56.

New York Times, October 24, 1997, Janet Maslin, "Film Review; Saga with Tight Corsets and a Loose Structure," review of Beaumarchais, l'insolent.

School Library Journal, September, 1977, Anne Hanst, review of Big Bear, p. 102; August, 1982, Katharyn F. Crabbe, review of King Oleg, p. 94.

Times Literary Supplement, April 2, 1976, Anne de la Presle, review of Un hiver dans la vie de gros ours, p. 374; March 26, 1982, Josephine Karavasil, "Matters of Rhythm and Register," review of King Oleg, p. 347.

World Literature Today, summer, 1978, Madeleine Rumeau-Smith, review of La zone d'ombre, p. 427; summer, 1983, J.L. Greenberg, review of La révélation d'une voix et d'un nom, p. 428.