Muriel Barbery
Encyclopedia
Muriel Barbery is a French novelist and professor of philosophy
.
, entered the École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud
in 1990 and obtained her agrégation
in philosophy in 1993. She then taught philosophy at the Université de Bourgogne, in a lycée, and at the Saint-Lô
IUFM (teacher training college).
Her novel L'Élégance du hérisson (translated into English by Alison Anderson as The Elegance of the Hedgehog) topped the French best-seller lists for 30 consecutive weeks and was reprinted 50 times. By May 2008 it had sold more than a million copies. It concerns the inhabitants of a small Paris apartment block, notably its crypto-intellectual concierge, Renée. She and Paloma, the likewise intellectual teenage daughter of a resident family, narrate the book in turn. Renée also features briefly in Barbery's first novel, Une Gourmandise, which appeared in Anderson's English translation as Gourmet Rhapsody in 2009.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Biography
Barbery studied at the Lycée LakanalLycée Lakanal
Lycée Lakanal is a secondary public school in Sceaux, France. It was named after Joseph Lakanal, a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France. The school also offers a middle school and highly ranked "classes préparatoires" undergraduate training...
, entered the École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud
École normale supérieure lettres et sciences humaines
The École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, or ENS LSH, was an elite French grande école specialising in the arts, humanities and social sciences...
in 1990 and obtained her agrégation
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
in philosophy in 1993. She then taught philosophy at the Université de Bourgogne, in a lycée, and at the Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
IUFM (teacher training college).
Her novel L'Élégance du hérisson (translated into English by Alison Anderson as The Elegance of the Hedgehog) topped the French best-seller lists for 30 consecutive weeks and was reprinted 50 times. By May 2008 it had sold more than a million copies. It concerns the inhabitants of a small Paris apartment block, notably its crypto-intellectual concierge, Renée. She and Paloma, the likewise intellectual teenage daughter of a resident family, narrate the book in turn. Renée also features briefly in Barbery's first novel, Une Gourmandise, which appeared in Anderson's English translation as Gourmet Rhapsody in 2009.
Novels
- Une Gourmandise, Gallimard, 2000; in English, Gourmet Rhapsody, Europa EditionsEuropa EditionsEuropa Editions is a publishing company founded in 2005 by husband and wife Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri, who also founded the Italian publisher Edizioni E/O. The New York-based Europa Editions specializes in bringing works by European writers to American readers...
, 2009. - L'Élégance du hérisson, Gallimard, 2006; in English The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Europa Editions, 2008.