Hériat, Philippe

(pen name of Raymond-Gérard Payelle). Born Sept. 15, 1898, in Paris; died there Oct. 10, 1971. French writer. Member of the Académie des Goncourt (1949).

Hériat left the faculty of letters of the Sorbonne in 1916 to volunteer for service at the front. In 1921 he published under his real name the screenplay for the film Eldorado. He appeared in films and on the stage.

Hériat’s novels written in the 1930’s for the most part maintain the traditions of realistic prose; The Innocent (1931), however, is burdened with elements of naturalism, and The Morning Spider (1933) and Mirrors (1936) are marked by experimentation with form.

Hériat’s novel The Spoiled Children (1939; Russian translation, 1962) introduced the character Agnes Boussardel, a woman who breaks with family tradition. It is part of a tetralogy, whose story line begins with The Boussardel Family (published 1944), which describes the life of three generations of stockbrokers against the background of European history from 1815 to 1914. The Gold Railings (1957; Russian translation, 1962) depicts the fascist occupation of France during World War II. Time to Love (1968; Russian translation, 1971) is told by Agnes, who finds happiness in work.

Hériat was also the author of a number of plays.