Henri Bachelin

• Born — 27 March 1879 • Birthplace — Lormes, Nièvre • Died — 21 September 1941 • Place of death — Paris • Occupation — Writer

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 He left several unpublished manuscripts.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. • Illustration — Montsauche-les-Settons, Rue Henri Bachelin

• 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)