Marguerite Duras

Marguerite Duras Synopsis

Born in a northern suburb of Saigon in 1914, Marguerite Duras became one of the most prolific and analyzed figures in 20th-century French literature and film. She earned initial fame with her novel, Moderato Cantabile (1958), which sold half a million copies and won the Prix de Mai. At the request of Alain Resnais, she wrote a scenario on the bombing of Hiroshima. Resnais's film, Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959), became an immediate hit at Cannes, thus earning Duras further fame. But even after these achievements, little was written about her work until the early 1970s. Since then, the situation has reversed, and a tremendous number of critical and scholarly works have been written about her. This bibliography includes annotated entries for works by and about Duras and includes a brief critical biography and chronology recounting the major events in her life and career. This volume documents the tremendous critical response to Duras's life and work. The book begins with a short critical biography that discusses some of the major events and themes in her career. A chronology then recounts her life in capsule form. The rest of the book presents annotated entries for works by and about Duras. It includes all works by Duras extant at the time of her death in March 1996, along with secondary sources published by the end of 1994. Works by Duras are grouped in chapters listing her writings, films, print interviews, and broadcast interviews. Works about Duras are grouped in chapters on books, edited collections, journals and journal articles, dissertations, reviews, magazine pieces, and critical editions. Several indexes add to the usefulness of the work.

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