Jean Raspail
Encyclopedia
Jean Raspail is a French
author
, traveler and explorer.
Jean Raspail was born the son of factory manager Octave Raspail and Marguerite Chaix. He attended private Catholic colleges at Saint-Jean de Passy
in Paris, the Institution Sainte-Marie d'Antony and the Ecole des Roches in Verneuil-sur-Avre.
During the first twenty years of his career, he traveled the world to discover populations threatened by the confrontation with modernity. In 1950–52, he led the Tierra del Fuego
–Alaska
car trek and in 1954, the French research expedition to the land of the Incas. In 1981, his novel, I, Antoine de Tounens, roi de Patagonie ('Me, Antoine of Tounens, King of Patagonia'), won the Grand Prix du Roman
(award for a novel) of the Académie française
.
His unconventional utopia
s, which bear the stamp of his traditional Catholicism
, were regarded as controversial already in the 1950s. He has written several utopian novels, in which the ideologies of Communism
and Liberalism
fail and a Catholic monarchy is restored. In the novel Sire, a French king is crowned in Reims
in February 1999, the 18 year old Philippe Pharamond de Bourbon
, a direct descendant of the last French kings.
Raspail's seminal work is The Camp of the Saints
(1973). In it, he predicted the overwhelming collapse of Western civilization
in a 'tidal wave' of Third World
immigration
. The book evoke a huge controversy leading some of his critics to accuse him of right-wing extremism on the basis of the views expressed in the book. Today, the book is popular among immigration reduction
ists, and has been reprinted by John Tanton
's The Social Contract Press
. After Camp of the Saints, Raspail wrote many successful novels, including North, Sire and The Fisher's Ring. He fits into the family of novelists like Roger Nimier
, Dino Buzzati
and Michel Déon
.
Raspail was a candidate for the Académie Française in 2000 and received most votes but without obtaining the majority required for election to the vacant seat of Jean Guitton
.
An article which he wrote in Le Figaro
June 17, 2004, entitled "The Fatherland Betrayed by the Republic", in which he criticized the French immigration policy, was sued by International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism
for "incitement to racial hatred", but the action was turned down by the court on October 28.
In 1970 the Académie Française awarded Raspail its Jean-Walther Prize for the whole of his work. In 2009, the Editions of Methuselah rewarded him the Wartburg Literary Award for the whole of his work.
He lives in Neuilly-sur-Seine
, near Paris
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, traveler and explorer.
Jean Raspail was born the son of factory manager Octave Raspail and Marguerite Chaix. He attended private Catholic colleges at Saint-Jean de Passy
Saint-Jean de Passy
Saint-Jean-de-Passy is a private catholic school located in the XVIe arrondissement de Paris. Founded in 1839, it is one of France most reputed schools, historical rival of lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, it enrolls students in grades 1 through 12 and a small number of postgraduates.-History:The...
in Paris, the Institution Sainte-Marie d'Antony and the Ecole des Roches in Verneuil-sur-Avre.
During the first twenty years of his career, he traveled the world to discover populations threatened by the confrontation with modernity. In 1950–52, he led the Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
–Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
car trek and in 1954, the French research expedition to the land of the Incas. In 1981, his novel, I, Antoine de Tounens, roi de Patagonie ('Me, Antoine of Tounens, King of Patagonia'), won the Grand Prix du Roman
Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française
Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1918, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary awards in France...
(award for a novel) of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
.
His unconventional utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
s, which bear the stamp of his traditional Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, were regarded as controversial already in the 1950s. He has written several utopian novels, in which the ideologies of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
fail and a Catholic monarchy is restored. In the novel Sire, a French king is crowned in Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
in February 1999, the 18 year old Philippe Pharamond de Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, a direct descendant of the last French kings.
Raspail's seminal work is The Camp of the Saints
The Camp of the Saints
The Camp of the Saints is a 1973 French novel by Jean Raspail. A translation by Norman Shapiro was published by Scribner in 1975...
(1973). In it, he predicted the overwhelming collapse of Western civilization
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
in a 'tidal wave' of Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. The book evoke a huge controversy leading some of his critics to accuse him of right-wing extremism on the basis of the views expressed in the book. Today, the book is popular among immigration reduction
Immigration reduction
Immigration reduction refers to a movement in the United States that advocates a reduction in the amount of immigration allowed into the country. Steps advocated for reducing the numbers of immigrants include advocating stronger action to prevent illegal entry and illegal immigration, and...
ists, and has been reprinted by John Tanton
John Tanton
John H. Tanton, M.D., is a retired ophthalmologist from Petoskey, Michigan, and an influential activist in efforts aimed at reducing immigration levels in the United States. He was organizer and first chairman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform , a non-profit educational group that...
's The Social Contract Press
The Social Contract Press
The Social Contract Press is an American publisher. It is a proponent of immigration reduction and population control, with an emphasis on issues such as culture and the environment...
. After Camp of the Saints, Raspail wrote many successful novels, including North, Sire and The Fisher's Ring. He fits into the family of novelists like Roger Nimier
Roger Nimier
-Life:He was born in 1925, and served in the French Army, specifically in the 2nd Hussard Regiment in the Second World War .He began to write quite early in his life...
, Dino Buzzati
Dino Buzzati
Dino Buzzati-Traverso was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet, as well as a journalist for Corriere della Sera. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel Il deserto dei Tartari, translated into English as The Tartar Steppe.-Life:Buzzati was born at San Pellegrino,...
and Michel Déon
Michel Déon
Michel Déon is a French writer.With Antoine Blondin, Jacques Laurent and Roger Nimier, he belonged to the literary group of the Hussards. He is a novelist as well as a literary columnist....
.
Raspail was a candidate for the Académie Française in 2000 and received most votes but without obtaining the majority required for election to the vacant seat of Jean Guitton
Jean Guitton
Jean Guitton was a French Catholic philosopher and theologian.-Biography:Born in Saint-Étienne, Loire, he studied at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and was accepted at the École normale supérieure in Paris. His principal religious and intellectual influence was from a blind priest, Francois Pouget...
.
An article which he wrote in Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
June 17, 2004, entitled "The Fatherland Betrayed by the Republic", in which he criticized the French immigration policy, was sued by International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism
International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism
The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism – or Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme et l'Antisémitisme in French— was established in 1926, and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion....
for "incitement to racial hatred", but the action was turned down by the court on October 28.
In 1970 the Académie Française awarded Raspail its Jean-Walther Prize for the whole of his work. In 2009, the Editions of Methuselah rewarded him the Wartburg Literary Award for the whole of his work.
He lives in Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Works
- Terre de feu - Alaska (Land of Fire - Alaska) (1952) - adventure writing
- Terres et Peuples Incas (Inca Lands and Peoples) (1955)
- Le Vent des Pins (1958), translated as Welcome Honorable Visitors: a novel by Jean StewartJean StewartJean Hurring , is a former swimmer from New Zealand. She represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, 1952 and 1956...
(PutnamG. P. Putnam's SonsG. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
, 1960) - Terres Saintes et Profanes (Lands Holy and Profane) (1960)
- Les Veuves de Santiago (The Widows of Santiago) (1962)
- Hong-Kong, Chine en sursis (Hong Kong, A Reprieve for China) (1963)
- Secouons le cocotier (Let's Shake the Coconut Tree) (1966) - travel writing
- Secouons le cocotier : 2, Punch Caraïbe (Let's Shake the Coconut Tree 2: Caribbean Punch)(1970) - travel writing
- Bienvenue Honorables Visiteurs (le Vent des pins) (Welcome Honorable Visitors) (1970) - novel
- Le Tam-Tam de Jonathan (Jonathan's Drum) (1971) - nouvelles
- L'Armada de la Dernière Chance (Last-Chance Armada) (1972)
- Le Camp des Saints (1973), translated as The Camp of the SaintsThe Camp of the SaintsThe Camp of the Saints is a 1973 French novel by Jean Raspail. A translation by Norman Shapiro was published by Scribner in 1975...
by Norman Shapiro (ScribnerCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, 1975; The Social Contract PressThe Social Contract PressThe Social Contract Press is an American publisher. It is a proponent of immigration reduction and population control, with an emphasis on issues such as culture and the environment...
, 1995, ISBN 1-881780-07-4) - novel - La Hache des Steppes (The Steppes Axe) (1974)
- Journal Peau Rouge (Red Skin Journal) (1975)
- Nuage Blanc et les Peaux-Rouges d'aujourd'hui (White Cloud and the Redskins of Today) (1975) - by Aliette and Jean Raspail
- Le Jeu du Roi (The King's Game) (1976) - novel
- Boulevard Raspail (Raspail Boulevard) (1977) - columns
- Les Peaux-rouges aujourd'hui (Redskins Today) (1978)
- Septentrion (North) (1979) - novel
- Bleu caraïbe et citrons verts : mes derniers voyages aux Antilles (Caribbean Blue and Green Lemons: My Last Trips to the Antilles) (1980)
- Les Antilles, d'île en île (The Antilles, From Island to Island) (1980)
- Moi, Antoine de Tounens, roi de Patagonie (I, Antoine of Tounens, King of Patagonia) (1981) - novel
- Les Hussards : histoires exemplaires (The Hussars: Representative Stories) (1982)
- Les Yeux d'Irène (Irene's Eyes) (1984) - novel
- Le Président (The President) (1985) - novel
- Qui se souvient des hommes... (1986), translated as Who Will Remember the People...: A Novel by Jeremy Leggatt (Mercury HouseMercury House (publishers)Mercury House, a project of Words Given Wings Literary Arts Project, a 501 nonprofit corporation, is an independent trade book publishing company, based in San Francisco, California. The press is distributed by Perseus Books Group and Small Press Distribution.The press has published over 130 titles...
, 1988, ISBN 0-916515-42-7) - novel - L'Île bleue (1988), translated as Blue Island: A Novel by Jeremy Leggatt (Mercury HouseMercury House (publishers)Mercury House, a project of Words Given Wings Literary Arts Project, a 501 nonprofit corporation, is an independent trade book publishing company, based in San Francisco, California. The press is distributed by Perseus Books Group and Small Press Distribution.The press has published over 130 titles...
, 1991, ISBN 0-916515-99-0) - Pêcheurs de Lune (Moon Fishers) (1990)
- Sire (Sire) (1990) - novel
- Vive Venise (Long Live Venice) (1992) - by Aliette and Jean Raspail
- Sept cavaliers quittèrent la ville au crépuscule par la porte de l'Ouest qui n'était plus gardée (Seven Knights Left the Village at Dusk through the Western Gate, Which Was No Longer Guarded) (1993) - novel (commonly called Sept cavaliers...)
- L'Anneau du pêcheur (The Fisher's Ring) (1995) - novel
- Hurrah Zara ! (Hooray Zara!) (1998) - novel
- Le Roi au-delà de la mer (The King Over the Water) (2000) - novel
- Adiós, Tierra del Fuego (Goodbye, Tierra del Fuego) (2001) - travel writing
- Le son des tambours sur la neige et autres nouvelles d'ailleurs (The Sound of Drums on Snow, and Other News from Elsewhere) (2002)
- Les Royaumes de Borée (The Kingdoms of Borée) (2003) - novel
- En canot sur les chemins d'eau du roi, une aventure en Amérique (2005) - travel writing
External links
- "The Traditionalism of Jean Raspail" John TantonJohn TantonJohn H. Tanton, M.D., is a retired ophthalmologist from Petoskey, Michigan, and an influential activist in efforts aimed at reducing immigration levels in the United States. He was organizer and first chairman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform , a non-profit educational group that...
in The Social Contract PressThe Social Contract PressThe Social Contract Press is an American publisher. It is a proponent of immigration reduction and population control, with an emphasis on issues such as culture and the environment...
(Winter 1994) - "An Interview With Jean Raspail" by Katharine Betts in The Social Contract PressThe Social Contract PressThe Social Contract Press is an American publisher. It is a proponent of immigration reduction and population control, with an emphasis on issues such as culture and the environment...
(Winter 1994) - "The Fatherland Betrayed by The Republic" by Jean Raspail in Le FigaroLe FigaroLe Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
magazine (France, June 17, 2004)