Roland Dorgelès

Roland Dorgelès, pseudonym of Roland Lécavelé (1886-1973), French writer and veteran of World War I, began his career in the bohemian circles of Montmartre. After military service, he wrote "Les croix de bois" (1919), an acclaimed book about the war that won the Femina Prize. Dorgelès maintained a combination of realism and exoticism in later works, standing out in contemporary French literature. Elected to the Goncourt Academy in 1929, he became its president. During World War II, he was a war correspondent and wrote "Retour au front drôle de guerre" (1939) and "Carte d'identité" (1945) about the French Resistance. He was also a painter.