Charles Plisnier
Charles Plisnier (13 December 1896 – 17 July 1952) was a Belgian writer from Wallonia.
Charles Plisnier

Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe (Sygnatura: 1-E-4296) (Polish National Digital Archive) Photographs available at are public domain or the owner of the copyrights is the State Treasur · Public domain
- Full name
- Charles Marie Fernand Plisnier.
- Born
- 1896. · Ghlin.
- Died
- 1952. · Brussels.
- Nationality
- Belgium.
- Occupation
- poet, jurist, lawyer, novelist, essayist, politician and writer.
- Education
- Free University of Brussels.
- Known for
- Faux passeports.
- Honours
- Prix Goncourt.
- Languages
- French.
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Documentary summary
Charles Plisnier (13 December 1896 – 17 July 1952) was a Belgian writer from Wallonia.
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Charles Plisnier (1896–1952) was a Belgian essayist, jurist and lawyer, among other activities. Born Charles Marie Fernand Plisnier in Ghlin, the essayist died in Brussels.
Charles Plisnier studied at Free University of Brussels. The essayist was a member of Academie Royale de Langue et de littérature Françaises, Communist International and Federal Union of European Nationalities, among others.
Works include Faux passeports. Languages used include French. Charles Plisnier received Prix Goncourt.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q1065801 · wikipedia · Charles Plisnier
In this article
Biography
Biography
Training as a lawyer at the Free University of Brussels from 1919, Plisnier became a Doctor of Law at the court of appeal of Brussels in 1922. In his youth, he was a member of the Communist Party of Belgium, and worked for the International Red Aid. After visiting the Soviet Union in 1928, he was disillusioned with the country and started sympathizing with the Trotskyist movement, which led to his exclusion from the Communist Party. He later disavowed communism and became a Roman Catholic, but nevertheless remained a Marxist. Plisnier appeared as a heretic to the majority of his contemporaries, as the existence of God never ceased to be an active question for him; throughout his life, he experienced periods of profound atheism and of mystical crisis.[1] Turning to literature, Plisnier became notable as a writer of family sagas tinged with a critique of bourgeois society. Mariages (1936; in English as Nothing to Chance, 1938) deals with the limitations of social conventions; the five-volume Meurtres (1939–41; "Murders") centres on an idealistic tragic hero, Noël Annequin, in his fight against hypocrisy. A recurring theme in his works is the moral and psychological study of individuals in crisis, such as in L'Enfant aux stigmates (1931; "The Child With Stigmata"), which recalls the fatalism of Maurice Maeterlinck. Plisnier also wrote poetry: his early poetical works, such as Prière aux mains coupées (1930; "Prayer with Severed Hands"), deal with his struggle to reconcile religion and politics, while Fertilité du désert (1933; ”Fertility of the Desert”) shows an influence of surrealism. His later works of poetry, such as Odes pour retrouver les hommes (1935; "Odes to Meet Again With Men"), Sacré (1938; "Holy", "Sacred") and Ave Genitrix (1943; "Hail Mother"), are more conventional in form and mark a movement back to Christianity.[2] In 1937, Plisnier won the Prix Goncourt for Faux passeports ("False Passports"; in English as Memoirs of a Secret Revolutionary, 1938), a collection of short stories denouncing Stalinism, in the same spirit as Arthur Koestler. He was the first foreigner to receive Prix Goncourt. He was also an activist of the Walloon movement; at the Walloon National Congress held in Liège in 1945, he gave fiery speeches and called for the unification of Wallonia with France.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Charles Plisnier was recorded at birth as Charles Marie Fernand Plisnier. His recorded language was French. His recorded confession was Catholic Church. Other recorded relations include Arthur Bastien, Charles Bastien, Gustave Bastien and Charles Bertin.
Career and activity
Career and activity
He belonged to Academie Royale de Langue et de littérature Françaises, Federal Union of European Nationalities, International Red Aid and Communist International.
Work and production
Work and production
One work is recorded as notable: Faux passeports.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1896
Charles Plisnier born at Ghlin.
1952
Charles Plisnier died at Brussels.
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Ghlin.
Birth place
Brussels.
Death place
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Charles Plisnier received Prix Goncourt.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
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Further particulars
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Charles Plisnier studied at Free University of Brussels.
The recorded source classes are reference work. Every statement above restates one of those records; where they are silent, this article is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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