The Passionate Heart is a 1952

1952 in literature

The year 1952, in literature involved some significant events and new literary publications.-Events:*J. L. Carr takes over as headmaster of Highfields Primary School, Kettering, which will eventually furnish the subject matter for his novel, The Harpole Report.*November 25 - Agatha Christie's play...

 novel by Béatrix Beck

Béatrix Beck

Béatrix Beck was a French writer from Belgian origin.She was born at Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, the daughter of the poet Christian Beck. After several jobs, she became the secretary of André Gide, he encouraged her to write about her experiences: her mother's suicide, the war, her poverty, etc...

, which won the Prix Goncourt

Prix Goncourt

The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...

. It was published in the UK as The Priest (1953) and in the US as The Passionate Heart (1953).

A movie version was made in 1961 called Léon Morin, Priest

Léon Morin, Priest

The Passionate Heart is a 1952 novel by Béatrix Beck, which won the Prix Goncourt. It was published in the UK as The Priest and in the US as The Passionate Heart ....

(French: Léon Morin, prêtre), directed and scripted by Jean-Pierre Melville, and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long...

 and Emmanuelle Riva

Emmanuelle Riva

Emmanuelle Riva is a French actress.Riva started her acting career on the Paris stage after having worked as a seamstress...

. Belmondo was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...

.

Plot

In a small French town during the Occupation, Barny is a young, wayward, sexually frustrated widow, living with her little girl. She is also a communist militant who long ago decided that the easiest way was the best. One day she enters a church, randomly chooses a priest and starts criticizing the religion. But the priest is Leon Morin, who is young, handsome, clever and altruistic. He believes that any sin can be expunged by a good dose of faith, and does not offer her the reaction she was expecting. She is disturbed. She starts frequenting Morin, impressed by his moral strength, while he makes it his mission to steer her onto the right path.