Radiguet, Raymond

(1903-1923)

   writer

   Born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Raymond Radi-guet, whose career was as precocious as it was short, was encouraged by andré salmon before meeting jean cocteau. Like them, Radiguet wrote novels reminiscent of the traditional psychological works of marie de la fayette. Having published a collection of poems, Les Joues en feu (1920), and a play, Les Pélicans (1921), he had a considerable success with his novel, Le Diable au corps (1923). With difficulty, Radiguet finished his next novel, Le Bal du comte d'Orgel (posthumous, 1924). An admirer of the moral novelists like La Fayette, stendhal, and marcel proust, he wrote also in a restrained and measured style, while evoking human passion and emotion (reminiscent of colette and François mauriac). As cocteau said, praising his genius, Radiguet "belonged to that solemn race of men whose lives unfold too quickly to their close."