Foundling's War

Michel Deon published over fifty works. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix Interallie for his 1970 novel, Les Poneys Sauvages (The Wild Ponies). His 1973 novel, Un Taxi Mauve, garnered him international renown when it received the esteemed title of the Grand Prix du roman de l'Academie francaise. His novels have been translated into numerous languages. He was considered one of the most innovative French writers of the 21st century. A member of the Academie francaise, Deon was one of just forty members who are elected by their peers to serve for life. Deon died in 2016.Julian Evans grew up in Australia and London in the 1960s. He is a writer and translator. He has written and presented radio and television documentaries and writes for English and French newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, Prospect, Times Literary Supplement and L'Atelier du Roman. He is a recipient of the Prix du Rayonnement de la Langue Francaise from the Academie Francaise. He currently lives in London with his wife and their two children.

Praise for Michel Deon'Our lives would be all the richer if we read a Michel Deon novel - a modern classic' William Boyd'A splendid mixture of acerbic asides and bright invention, [The Foundling's War] reads admirably in Julian Evans's excellent translation' Times Literary Supplement'I loved this book for the way, in its particularities and its casual narration, it admitted me to a world I knew nothing about... It is not just a glimpse into the past, but the study of the heart of a man and his times' Paul Theroux'Inspired by Henry Fielding's 18th-century novel Tom Jones... As witty as its English forebear but with French savoir-faire, The Foundling Boy may win new readers for books translated from French' New York Times'Mature, relaxed storytelling, balancing human nature with historical inevitability; a pleasure for traditionalists generally and Francophiles in particular' Kirkus reviews'An underreported entrance into the forum of American letters' Andrew Mitchell Davenport, Full Stop'An enjoyable read that doesn't try too hard to be anything more than a very entertaining story and yet still hits home sufficiently hard as to the state of the nation and society in those strange decades' The Complete Review'Quiet, wryly funny prose ... a delight' Independent on Sunday'It is shamefully parochial of us that this eminent writer has been so ignored by the anglophone world' Sunday Times'A big-hearted coming-of-age shaggy-dog story ... [Deon's] novel leaves you feeling better about life' The Spectator'Remarkable ... Rooted in 19th-century realism but profoundly subversive of its conventions ... Deserves a place alongside Flaubert's Sentimental Education and Le Grand Meaulnes' New Statesman