Romain Rolland (January 29, 1866 – November 10, 1946) was a French writer and Nobel laureate. He is best known for his novel Jean-Christophe, which helped introduce existentialism to the English-speaking world. Born in Paris, Rolland was the son of a country doctor. His mother died when he was eight years old, and he was sent to live with his father in Briey-en-Forêt
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As a boy, Rolland made many visits to the local abbey to hear the monks recite the hours of the day. Later, as a young man living in Paris, Rolland became interested in writing after reading Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris. He began writing poetry and essays but soon turned to literature.
His first novel, Jean-Christophe (1912), was published when he was twenty-three years old. It received immediate acclaim. After World War I broke out, Rolland joined the French Army as an officer of the artillery.
He participated in the Battle of Verdun and became known as "the gunner of Verdun." He served until René Viviani's government was overthrown by Georges Clemenceau's dictatorship in early 1917. After the war ended in November 1918, Rolland continued to write poems and essays on political themes. He also translated into French Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris (1922).
In 1922, his life changed forever when he met Henri Bergson at a dinner party given by Paul Valéry. The two men became friends and collaborated on several projects before parting ways. Rolland published his short story collection Le Plus Long Qu'un Jour (The Longest Day) in 1925 and his play La Véritable Histoire du Soldat Perdu (The True Story of a Lost Soldier) two years later.
Jean-Christophe received its first American publication in 1926 with publication by Houghton Mifflin Company. The book sold over 500,000 copies within five months of its release. It has since been translated into thirty languages across the world including Japanese where it is known as Seinen Jidai Toriko no Monogatari or The Tale of Youthful Treachery according to Drury Lane Press who have published it in trade paperback format on May 19th 2011.