Henri Bachelin

Henri Bachelin (; 27 March 1879 – 21 September 1941) was a 20th-century French writer.

Biography After studying at the seminary of Nevers, followed by four years in the army, he practised the profession of bank clerk, which he abandoned in 1911 to devote himself exclusively to literature. He published about forty books, mostly novels and short stories, but also works of literary criticism and musicology. These are works centred on the painting of provincial life, like Sous d'humbles toits, Juliette la jolie or Le Village, where he depicts the countryside and villages of the Morvan with great realism. He was also the author of historical novels (L'Abbaye-Vézelay au XIIe siècle, La mort de Bibracte), novels of manners (Le Péché de la Vierge, La Vénus rustique) and training novels fed with autobiographical elements (L'Héritage, Le Chant du coq). He was awarded the prix Femina in 1918 for Le Serviteur, in which he pays homage to his father.

His interest in religious music was reflected in a novel (Les Grandes Orgues) and by a theoretical reference work (L'Orgue, ses éléments, son histoire, son esthétique) written in collaboration with Alexandre Eugène Cellier. In 1925 he was commissioned to prepare the edition of the "Journal" of Jules Renard, of which he had been a friend and a disciple at the beginning. He collaborated with numerous journals such as the Mercure de France and the NRF.

Although he went to Paris, where he frequented Charles-Louis Philippe, André Gide and Paul Léautaud, he was still very attached to his small native town. Lormes built a bust in his memory in front of the house where he spent his childhood. He left several unpublished manuscripts. The first volume of his "Journal" (written from 1926 to 1941) was published in 2009.

Works Poetry 1904: Horizons et coins du Morvan, Paris Tales and short stories 1906: Pas-comme-les-autres 1907: Les Manigants 1910: Robes noires 1911: Les Sports aux champs 1913: Sous d'humbles toits 1917: La Guerre sur le hameau 1920: Sous les marronniers en fleurs 1999: Vieilles images d'un canton de France Novels 1910: La Bancale 1912: Juliette la jolie 1914: L'Héritage 1918: Le Serviteur, Prix Femina 1918: L'Eclaircie 1919: Le Village, Prix Jean Revel 1919: Le Petit 1920: Le Bélier, la brebis et le mouton 1922: Les Rustres 1923: Le Chant du coq 1914: Le Péché de la Vierge 1925: Les Grandes Orgues 1925: La Cornemuse de Saulieu 1926: La Vénus rustique 1926: Dondon Juan 1927: La maison d'Annike 1927: Le Taureau et les bœufs 1927: L'Abbaye - Vézelay au XIIe siècle 1928: L'Eté de la Saint Martin 1929: L'Orage d'hiver 1930: La mort de Bibracte 1931: Le Sergent Valentin 1937: Monsieur Ildefonse 1938: Le Sabreur 1981: Les Parsonniers Literary studies 1909: Jules Renard et son œuvre 1909: Gustave Flaubert 1926: J.-K. Huysmans. Du naturalisme littéraire au naturalisme mystique 1929: Charles-Louis Philippe. Son œuvre 1930: Jules Renard (1864–1910). Son œuvre 1945: Nos paysans d'après Jules Renard, précédé de Jules Renard en Nivernais Musicology 1927: Les noëls français 1930: Les Maîtrises et la musique de chœur 1933: L'Orgue. Ses éléments, son histoire, son esthétique (in collab. with Alexandre Cellier) Trivia 1941: P.-J. Proudhon, socialiste national (1809–1865) 1944: Collines et buttes parisiennes 1994: Correspondances avec André Gide et Romain Rolland 2009: Journal - tome I - 1926-1929 (éditions du Pas de l'Âne, Autun)