Michel Mohrt
Encyclopedia
Mohrt was born in Morlaix
Morlaix
Morlaix is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Leisure and tourism:...
, Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
. He was elected to 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,...
on 18 April 1985. Mohrt died at the age of 97 on 17 August 2011.
Biography
Michel Mohrt entered the literary world at the age of 14, creating woodcuts for a book by the renowned French writer Jakez Breton-Riou. He studied law and literature at the University of RennesUniversity of Rennes
The University of Rennes was a French university located in the city of Rennes. It was established by the union of the 3 faculties of the city in 1885. In 1969, it was divided in two new universities:* the University of Rennes 1...
. After obtaining a degree in law he applied at the barreau de Morlaix in 1937. He was a strong supporter of the "French action".
He fought with distinction during the 1940 Alpine Line
Alpine Line
The Alpine Line or Little Maginot Line was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France...
campaign against the Italians
Italian invasion of France
The Italian invasion of France in June 1940 was a small-scale invasion that started near the end of the Battle of France during World War II. The goal of the Italian offensive was to take control of the Alps mountain range and the region around Nice, and to win the colonies in North Africa...
, most notably in the Vésubie
Vésubie
The Vésubie is a river located in the southeast of France. It is a left tributary of the Var River in the Maritime Alps. The source is in the Mercantour National park near the border with Italy. The river flows through the town of Saint-Martin-Vésubie which is a major center for hiking...
. During this campaign he fought alongside the famous Jean Bassompierre, who, after the campaign against the Italians, enlisted in the Wehrmacht to fight Bolshevism. Michel Mohrt gave him recognition in his work Tombeau de La Rouërie (Tomb of the Rouërie).
He was a long-time editor at Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard is one of the leading French publishers of books. The Guardian has described it as having "the best backlist in the world". In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1418 titles....
, where he was a specialist in North American literature. In 1962 he received the Grand Prize in the category of novels from 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,...
for his novel Sea Prison and was elected to the Académie on 18 April 1985.