Pascal Quignard


Pascal Quignard is a French writer born in Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure. In 1980 his novel Carus was awarded the Prix des Critiques. In 2002 Les Ombres errantes won the Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary prize. Terrasse à Rome, received the French Academy prize in 2000. He also won the 2023 Prix Formentor.
Among Quignard's most commented-upon works are his eighty-four "Little Treatises", first published in 1990 by Maeght. But his most popular book is probably All the World's Mornings, about 17th-century viola de gamba player Marin Marais and his teacher, Sainte-Colombe, which was adapted for the screen in 1991, by director Alain Corneau. Quignard wrote the screenplay of the film, in collaboration with Corneau. Tous les matins du monde, starring Jean-Pierre Marielle, Gérard Depardieu and son Guillaume Depardieu, was a tremendous success in France and sold 2 million tickets in the first year. It was subsequently distributed in 31 countries, and released in 1992 in the United States. The soundtrack was certified platinum and contributed to musician Jordi Savall’s international celebrity.
Quignard has also translated works from the Latin, Chinese, and Greek.

Works

Novels, novellas, récit

  • Le Lecteur
  • Carus
  • Les Tablettes de buis d’Apronenia Avitia. On Wooden Tablets: Apronenia Avitia, trans. Bruce X
  • Le Salon du Wurtemberg. The Salon in Württemberg, trans. Barbara Bray
  • Les Escaliers de Chambord
  • Tous les matins du monde. All the World's Mornings, trans. James Kirkup
  • L'Amour conjugal
  • L'Occupation américaine
  • Dernier Royaume series :
  • # Les Ombres errantes. The Roving Shadows, trans. Chris Turner
  • # Sur le jadis. The Fount of Time, trans. Chris Turner
  • # Abîmes. Abysses, trans. Chris Turner
  • # Les Paradisiaques. The Paradisiacs, trans. John Taylor
  • # Sordidissimes
  • # La Barque silencieuse. The Silent Crossing, trans. Chris Turner
  • # Les Désarçonnés. The Unsaddled, trans. John Taylor
  • # Vie secrète
  • # Mourir de penser. Dying of Thinking, trans. John Taylor
  • # L'Enfant d'Ingolstadt
  • # L'Homme aux trois lettres
  • # Les Heures heureuses
  • Terrasse à Rome. A Terrace in Rome, trans. Douglas Penick and Charles Ré
  • Requiem
  • Villa Amalia. Villa Amalia, trans. Chris Turner
  • Le Petit Cupidon
  • Les Solidarités mystérieuses. Mysterious Solidarities, trans. Chris Turner
  • Les Larmes. The Tears, trans. Chris Turner
  • Dans ce jardin qu'on aimait
  • L'Amour, la Mer
  • Trésor caché''

    Short stories

  • Éthelrude et Wolframm
  • Le Secret du domaine, illustrations by Jean Garonnaire. Reprinted in 2006 under the title L'Enfant au visage couleur de la mort
  • Triomphe du temps
  • Princesse Vieille Reine
  • ''Le Chant du marais''

    Essays and other

  • L'Être du balbutiement
  • La Parole de la Délie : essai sur Maurice Scève
  • Michel Deguy
  • Sarx. Sarx, trans. Keith Waldrop
  • Petits traités series :
  • * Petits traités, Book I
  • * Petits traités, Book II
  • * Petits traités, Book III
  • * Petits traités, Books I to VIII
  • Le Vœu de silence: essai sur Louis-René des Forêts
  • Albucius. Albucius, trans. Bruce Boone
  • Le Sexe et l'Effroi. Sex and Terror, trans. Chris Turner
  • La Haine de la musique. The Hatred of Music, trans. Matthew Amos and Fredrik Rönnbäck
  • La Nuit sexuelle. The Sexual Night, trans. Chris Turner
  • La Réponse à Lord Chandos. The Answer to Lord Chandos, trans. Stéphanie Boulard and Timothy Lavenz

    Books translated in English

  • The Salon in Württemberg, trans. Barbara Bray
  • Albucius, trans. Bruce Boone
  • All the World's Mornings, trans. James Kirkup
  • Sarx, trans. Keith Waldrop
  • On Wooden Tablets: Apronenia Avitia, trans. Bruce X
  • The Roving Shadows, trans. Chris Turner
  • Sex and Terror, trans. Chris Turner
  • The Silent Crossing, trans. Chris Turner
  • Abysses, trans. Chris Turner
  • The Sexual Night, trans. Chris Turner
  • A Terrace in Rome, trans. Douglas Penick and Charles Ré
  • The Hatred of Music, trans. Matthew Amos and Fredrik Rönnbäck
  • Villa Amalia, trans. Chris Turner
  • Mysterious Solidarities, trans. Chris Turner
  • The Fount of Time, trans. Chris Turner
  • The Tears, trans. Chris Turner
  • The Unsaddled, trans. John Taylor
  • Dying of Thinking, trans. John Taylor
  • The Answer to Lord Chandos, trans. Stéphanie Boulard and Timothy Lavenz
  • The Paradisiacs, trans. John Taylor

    Awards and honours

  • 1980: Prix des Critiques, for Carus
  • 1991: Prix de la langue française
  • 1998: Grand prix de littérature de la SGDL, for Vie secrète
  • 1998: Grand prix du roman de la Ville de Paris
  • 2000: Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française, for Terrasse à Rome
  • 2000: Prix de la Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco
  • 2002: Prix Goncourt, for Les Ombres errantes
  • 2006: Grand prix Jean Giono, for Villa Amalia
  • 2023: Prix Formentor for his body of work