Goncourt brothers

Goncourt brothers
Edmond (left) with his brother Jules. Photographed by Félix Nadar

The Goncourt brothers (pronounced [gɔ̃kuːʁ]) were Edmond de Goncourt ([ɛdmɔ̃], 1822–96) and Jules de Goncourt ([ʒil], 1830–70), both French naturalist writers. They formed a partnership that "is possibly unique in literary history. Not only did they write all their books together, they did not spend more than a day apart in their adult lives, until they were finally parted by Jules's death in 1870."[1] They are known for their literary work and for their diaries, which offer a intimate view into the French literary society of the later nineteenth century.

Their career as writers began with an account of a sketching holiday together. They published books on aspects of 18th-century French art and society (e.g., Portraits intimes du XVIII siecle), dismissing the vulgarity of the Second Empire in favour of a more refined age. They wrote the long Journal des Goncourt from 1851, which gives an interesting,[says who?] at times spiteful view of the literary and social life of their time. They also published six novels, of which Germinie Lacerteux, 1865, was the fourth. It is based on the true case of their own maidservant, Rose Malingre, whose double life they had never suspected. Though their emphasis on pathological cases occasionally trumped their psychological delicacy, their impressionist style nonetheless had an intense and original precision.[says who?]

Edmond de Goncourt bequeathed his entire estate for the foundation and maintenance of the académie Goncourt. Since 1903, the académie has awarded the Prix Goncourt, probably the most important literary prize in French literature.

The first-ever English-language version of Manette Salomon, translated by Tina Kover, will be published in the spring of 2012 by Hol Art Books.

Works

Novels

  • Germinie Lacerteux (1865)
  • Manette Salomon (1867)
  • Madame Gervaisais (1869)

Other

  • Journal des Goncourt, 1851-1896
  • French Eighteenth Century Painters, 1859-1875

Notes

  1. ^ Kirsch (2006)

References



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  • Goncourt, Edmond and Jules — ▪ French authors in full  Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt  and  Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt  Respectively,   born May 26, 1822, Nancy, France died July 16, 1896, Champrosay born December 17, 1830, Paris died June 20, 1870, Auteuil  French …   Universalium

  • Goncourt, Edmond (-Louis-Antoine Huot de) and Jules (-Alfred Huot de) — born May 26, 1822, Nancy, France died July 16, 1896, Champrosay born Dec. 17, 1830, Paris died June 20, 1870, Auteuil French writers. The Goncourt brothers were enabled by a legacy to devote their lives largely to writing. They produced a series… …   Universalium

  • Goncourt —   [gɔ̃ kuːr], Edmond Huot de, französischer Schriftsteller, * Nancy 26. 5. 1822, ✝ Champrosay (heute zu Draveil, Département Essonne) 16. 7. 1896, und sein Bruder Jules Huot de Goncourt, französischer Schriftsteller, * Paris 17. 12. 1830, ✝… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Goncourt, Edmond Huot de — (1822 1896)    historian, writer    Born in Nancy, Edmond Huot de Goncourt became interested in literature quite early. in collaboration with his brother, Jules Huot de Goncourt (1830 70), he developed a critical style of historiography. The… …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Brothers Goncourt — Edmund and Jules de Goncourt literary collaborators …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • GONCOURT, EDMOND AND JULES DE —    French novelists, born, the former at Nancy, the latter at Paris; a habit of elaborate note taking whilst on sketching tours first drew the brothers towards literature, and inoculated them with the habit of minute and accurate observation… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Prix Goncourt — /pree gon koor /; Fr. /prddee gawonn koohrdd / Goncourt (def. 2). * * * ▪ French literary prize       French literary prize, one of the most important in France. It was first conceived in 1867 by the brothers Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, authors …   Universalium

  • Edmond and Jules Goncourt — were two French literary brothers. See:* Edmond de Goncourt * Jules de Goncourt …   Wikipedia

  • Tharaud brothers — ▪ French writers   French brothers noted for the extent and diversity of their literary production spanning 50 years of collaboration. Many of the early works of Jérôme Tharaud (b. May 18, 1874, Saint Junien, France d. Jan. 28, 1953, Varengeville …   Universalium

  • Salomon James de Rothschild — (1835 1864) was the fourth child of James Mayer de Rothschild, head of the Paris branch of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers. Misspent Youth As a young man, according to the Goncourt brothers, Rothschild squandered a million on the stock …   Wikipedia

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