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{{Short description|French novelist}}
{{Infobox writer
| name        = Robert Merle
| image       = Robert Merle (1964).JPG
| imagesize   = 200px
| caption     = Merle in 1964
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1908|8|28|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Tébessa]], [[French Algeria]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2004|3|27|1908|8|28|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Montfort-l'Amaury]], France
| occupation  = Novelist
| nationality = French
| period      = 1949–2003
| awards      = [[Prix Goncourt]]
}}

'''Robert Merle''' ({{IPA|fr|ʁɔbɛʁ mɛʁl|lang}}; 28 August 1908 – 27 March 2004) was a French [[novelist]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-apr-01-me-passings1.4-story.html|title=Robert Merle, 95; Author's Book Inspired 'Day of the Dolphin'|date=2004-04-01|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>

==Early life==
Merle was born in 1908 in [[Tébessa]], [[French Algeria]]. His father Félix, who was an interpreter "with a perfect knowledge of literary and spoken Arabic", was killed in 1916 in the [[Dardanelles]]. Young Merle and his mother moved to Paris, where he attended three [[lycée]]s and the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]].<ref name="Obit Independent">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-merle-549687.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808152230/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-merle-549687.html |title=Obituaries: Robert Merle |first=James |last=Kirkup |work=[[The Independent]] |date=2 April 2004 |archivedate=8 August 2011 |url-status=dead |accessdate=3 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="Obit Guardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/apr/08/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries |title=Obituary: Robert Merle |work=[[The Guardian]] |first=Douglas |last=Johnson |date=8 April 2004 |accessdate=7 August 2015}}</ref>

==Career==
===Academia and World War II===
Merle was professor of [[English literature|English Literature]] at several universities until the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]] in 1939. During the war, Merle was conscripted into the [[French Army|French army]] and assigned as an interpreter to the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]]. In 1940, he was in the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] on the beach of [[Zuydcoote]] — which he called a "blind and abominable lottery" — and was captured by the Germans. Merle was taken prisoner to [[Stalag]] VID at [[Dortmund]], and escaped, but was recaptured at Belgian customs. He was repatriated in July 1943, and after the war was awarded the [[Combatant's Cross|Croix du Combattant]].<ref name="Obit Independent"/><ref name="Obit Guardian"/>

===Writing===
Merle used his experiences at Dunkirk in his 1949 novel ''[[Week-end at Zuydcoote]]'', which became a "sensational success" and won the [[Prix Goncourt]]. A 1964 feature film adaptation, ''[[Weekend at Dunkirk]]'', was directed by [[Henri Verneuil]] and starred [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]]. It was a box office hit and made both men famous.<ref name="Obit Independent"/><ref name="Obit Guardian"/>

Merle's 1967 novel ''[[The Day of the Dolphin (novel)|Un animal doué de raison]]'' (lit. ''A Sentient Animal''), a stark [[Cold War]] [[satire]] inspired by [[John C. Lilly|John Lilly]]'s studies of [[dolphins]] and the [[Caribbean Crisis]], was translated into English and filmed as ''[[The Day of the Dolphin]]'' (1973) starring [[George C. Scott]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2004/03/31/robert_merle_95_french_writer/|title=Robert Merle, 95, French writer - The Boston Globe|website=archive.boston.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref> Merle's [[post-apocalyptic]] novel ''[[Malevil]]'' (1972) was also adapted into [[Malevil (film)|a 1981 film]].<ref name="Obit Independent"/> His 1952 novel ''[[Death Is My Trade|La mort est mon métier]]'' was adapted into [[Death is My Trade (film)|a 1977 film]], his 1962 novel ''L'île'' was filmed as a 1987 [[miniseries]] and ''Le propre de l'homme'' (1989) was adapted into a 1996 TV movie.

Among Merle's other works are the 1950 play ''Flamineo'', based on [[John Webster]]'s ''[[The White Devil]]'', the 1948 biography ''Oscar Wilde'' (extended in 1955 as ''Oscar Wilde, or The Destiny of Homosexuality''), and various translations including [[Jonathan Swift]]'s ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]''. In 1965 Merle wrote ''Moncada: premier combat de Fidel Castro'' and ''Ahmed Ben Bella'', and around this time translated the diaries of [[Che Guevara]]. Until the invasion of Afghanistan by the [[Red Army]], Merle was a sympathizer of the [[French Communist Party]].<ref name="Obit Independent"/> He said:
{{Blockquote|I was just a minor militant, and my fellow Reds did not approve of what I wrote. As for the student riots of May 1968, I never believed in the reality of that revolution. The only thing of value that came out of it was the liberation of sexual relationships.<ref name="Obit Independent"/>}}

Merle's "major achievement" was his 13-book series of [[historical novel]]s, ''[[Fortune de France]]'' (1977–2003), which recreate 16th and 17th century France through the eyes of a fictitious [[Protestant]] doctor turned spy. A "genuine scholar of language", Merle wrote the novels using many of the appropriate French speech rhythms and idioms of the historical period.<ref name="Obit Independent"/><ref name="Obit Guardian"/><ref name="WSJ">{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/historical-fiction-maurice-druons-accursed-kings-series-robert-merles-fortune-de-france-saga-1427483928 |title=The Original ''Game of Thrones'' |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |first=Allan |last=Massie |date=27 March 2015 |accessdate=5 July 2015}}</ref> The series made Merle a household name in France, with the author repeatedly called the [[Alexandre Dumas]] of the 20th century.<ref name="Obit Guardian"/><ref name="Telegraph 2014-12">{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11272930/The-Brethren-by-Robert-Merle.html |title=''The Brethren'' by Robert Merle, review: 'a lively adventure' |first=Toby |last=Clements |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=10 December 2014 |accessdate=4 August 2015}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Merle was married three times, and had four sons and two daughters. He died in 2004 at age 95 of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in [[Montfort-l'Amaury]], France.<ref name="Obit Independent"/><ref name="Obit Guardian"/><ref name="Telegraph 2014-12"/>

==Bibliography==
{{French literature sidebar}}
* ''Week-end à Zuydcoote'' (1949) - Published in the U.S. as ''[[Week-end at Zuydcoote]]'' (1950)
* ''La mort est mon métier'' (1952) - Published in the UK as ''[[Death is my Trade]]'' (1954)
* ''L'île'' (1962) - Published in the U.S. as ''The Island'' (1964)
* ''Moncada, premier combat de Fidel Castro'' (1965)
* ''[[The Day of the Dolphin (novel)|Un animal doué de raison]]'' (1967) - Published in the U.S. as ''The Day of the Dolphin'' (1967)
* ''Derrière la vitre'' (1970) - Published in the U.S. as ''Behind the Glass'' (1972)
* ''[[Malevil]]'' (1972)
* ''Les hommes protégés'' (1974) - Published in the U.S. as ''The Virility Factor'' (1977)
* ''Madrapour'' (1976)
* ''L'idole'' (1987) - Published in the U.S. as ''The Idol'' (1987)
* ''Le jour ne se lève pas pour nous'' (1987)
* ''Le propre de l'homme'' (1989)

===''[[Fortune de France]]'' series (1977-2003)===
# ''Fortune de France'' (1977)
# ''En nos vertes années'' (1979)
# ''Paris ma bonne ville'' (1980)
# ''Le Prince que voilà'' (1982)
# ''La violente amour'' (1983)
# ''La Pique du jour'' (1985)
# ''La Volte des vertugadins'' (1991)
# ''L’Enfant-Roi'' (1993)
# ''Les Roses de la vie'' (1995)
# ''Le Lys et la Pourpre'' (1997)
# ''La Gloire et les Périls'' (1999)
# ''Complots et Cabales'' (2001)
# ''Le Glaive et les amours'' (2003) (English: ''Love and the Sword'')

==Reception==
Kirkup called the ''Fortune de France'' series "spectacular" and dubbed it Merle's "major achievement".<ref name="Obit Independent"/> Douglas Johnson of ''[[The Guardian]]'' described the author as "a master of the historical novel".<ref name="Obit Guardian"/> The series made Merle a household name in France, and he has been repeatedly called the [[Alexandre Dumas]] of the 20th century.<ref name="Telegraph 2014-12"/><ref name="Guardian 2014-08 Channel">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/16/historical-epic-by-frances-hilary-mantel-crosses-the-channel-robert-merle |title=Modern-day Dumas finally crosses Channel |first=Dalya |last=Alberge |work=The Guardian |date=16 August 2014 |accessdate=4 August 2015}}</ref> ''[[Le Monde]]'' dubbed Merle "France's greatest popular novelist", and ''[[Le Figaro]]'' observed, "Robert Merle is one of the very few French writers who have attained both popular success and the admiration of critics."<ref name="Guardian 2014-08 Channel"/>

Writing for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', Allan Massie praised Merle's "thorough research, depth of understanding and popular touch", noting that "one of the strengths of Merle’s novels in his ability to evoke the feeling and texture of everyday life as well as high politics".<ref name="WSJ"/> Massie compared the first novel in Merle's series to [[Maurice Druon]]'s ''[[The Accursed Kings]]'' (''Les Rois maudits''), another famed French historical novel series, writing "There is a philosophical depth to the novel absent from Druon, for the Brethren are attracted to the Reformed Protestant (or Huguenot) faith ... Though not as gripping as ''The Accursed Kings'', ''The Brethren'' never strays, as Druon sometimes does, into the grotesque. It has a credibly human solidity."<ref name="WSJ"/> Toby Clements of ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' wrote, "There are set-piece discussions on the dilemmas of faith that are informative if not the stuff of high drama, and passages on the history of France that can only be made sense of with the aid of a map and a memory for names. But elsewhere there is much colour, and, overall, ''The Brethren'' gives a salty and plausible idea of just how different, odd and parlous life might have been."<ref name="Telegraph 2014-12"/>

As of 2014, ''Fortune de France'' had sold over five million copies in France.<ref name="Guardian 2014-08 Channel"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0580975|name=Robert Merle}}
* {{Isfdb name|name=Robert Merle}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070630203337/http://images.evene.fr/img/celeb/4501.jpg  Small picture]

{{Prix Goncourt}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merle, Robert}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Tébessa]]
[[Category:People of French Algeria]]
[[Category:Pieds-noirs]]
[[Category:French historical novelists]]
[[Category:French male novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century French novelists]]
[[Category:French science fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century French male writers]]
[[Category:Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni]]
[[Category:Prix Goncourt winners]]
[[Category:Grand prix Jean Giono recipients]]
[[Category:French Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:French prisoners of war in World War II]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany]]
[[Category:French escapees]]
[[Category:Escapees from German detention]]
[[Category:Emigrants from French Algeria to France]]

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