Thierry Maulnier

Thierry Maulnier (born Jacques Talagrand; 1908, Alès—1988) was a French journalist, essayist, dramatist, and literary critic.

Before 1940

A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure in the same class as Roger Vailland, Robert Brasillach, and Maurice Bardèche. While still a student, Maulnier became active in the integralist Action Française, and published in Charles Maurras' newspaper ("L'Action française"). He made a career in journalism and took part to the movement of the Non-conformists of the 1930s, inspired by the personalist generation of young intellectuals who shared some of the ideals of the Action Française, holding right-wing beliefs as an answer to a "crisis of civilization" and materialism. Thierry Maulnier associated with youth periodicals such as "Réaction", "La Revue du Siècle", and "La Revue française"; he also wrote his first volume, "La crise est dans l'homme" ("Crisis Is in Man").

In 1934, he authored, with Pierre Maxence, the manifesto "Demain la France" ("Tomorrow, France"). Maxence and Maulnier also founded the weekly "L'Insurgé" in 1936 - only lasting a few months, the magazine circulated nationalist tenets, reviewed in Maulnier's 1938 essay "Au-delà du nationalisme" ("Beyond Nationalism"). At the same time, he joined Jean de Fabrègues in the creation of a more analytical paper, "Combat", one which would be published until France's defeat in World War II.

World War II and after

A regular contributor to "L'Action française" since 1938, Maulnier continued to publish after Nazi Germany's occupation of France (from 1940); he also started writing for "Le Figaro". He ceased writing for the paper after the start of Operation Torch in 1942, and remained a journalist for "Le Figaro" from 1945 until his death.

With the beginning of the Fourth Republic, Thierry Maulnier no longer engaged in politics. He wrote plays ("La Course des rois" - 1947; "Le Profanateur" - 1950, "La Ville au fond de la mer" - 1953, "Le Soir du conquérant" - 1970) and essays ("Violence et conscience" - 1945, "La Face de méduse du communisme" - 1952, "L'Europe a fait le monde" - 1966, "Le Sens des mots" - 1976, "Les Vaches sacrées" - 1977), but also commented on social themes (with Maulnier as a staunch Pro-European).

In 1964, he was elected to the Académie française in place of the defunct Henry Bordeaux. In 1986 he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca.