(; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, critic, and novelist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1921. He was a member of the Académie française.

Early life 
Anatole France was a son of a bookseller. He studied at the Collège Stanislas. He got married in 1877 but he get divorced in 1892. He was librarian for the French Senate in 1876 - 1890.

Literary career 
Anatole France start his career as a parnassianism poet. Later he became an impressionist and he was an atheist. From 1867 he was a journalist. In 1881 he became famous with the novel Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, membre de l'Institut. It's about an old scholar Sylvester Bonnard, Bonnard wants to make good, but he commits a crime. This novel won France a prize from the French Academy. In 1893 he captured the atmosphere of the fin de siècle in Les Opinions de Jérôme Coignard.

France took a part in the Dreyfus Affair. He signed Émile Zola's manifesto supporting Dreyfus. Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer and he was charged with high treason. In 1901 France wrote Monsieur Bergeret about this affair. He stood out against colonialism.

In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize. He died in 1924 and he is buried near Paris in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery.

Bibliography

Poetry 
 Poèmes dorés (1873)
 Les Noces corinthiennes (1876)

Prose 
 Jocaste et Le Chat maigre (1879)
 Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, membre de l’Institut (1881)
 Les Désirs de Jean Servien (1882)
 Abeille, conte (1883)
 Balthasar (1889)
 Thaïs (1890)
 L’Étui de nacre (1892)
 La Rôtisserie de la reine Pédauque (1892)
 Les Opinions de Jérôme Coignard (1893)
 Le Lys rouge (1894)
 Le Jardin d’Épicure (1895)
 Le Puits de Sainte Claire (1895)
 L’Histoire contemporaine
 L’Orme du mail (1897), (L’Histoire contemporaine, I)
 Le Mannequin d'osier (1897), (L’Histoire contemporaine, II)
 L’Anneau d'améthyste (1899), (L’Histoire contemporaine, III)
 Monsieur Bergeret à Paris (1901), (L’Histoire contemporaine, IV)
 Clio (1900)
 Le Procurateur de Judée (1902)
 Histoires comiques (1903)
 Sur la pierre blanche (1905)
 L'Affaire Crainquebille (1901)
 L’Île des Pingouins (1908)
 Les Contes de Jacques Tournebroche (1908)
 Les Sept Femmes de Barbe bleue et autres contes merveilleux (1909)
 Les dieux ont soif (1912)
 La Révolte des anges (1914)

Memoirs 
 Le Livre de mon ami (1885)
 Pierre Nozière (1899)
 Le Petit Pierre (1918)
 La Vie en fleur (1922)

Plays 
 Au petit bonheur, (1898)
 Crainquebille, (1903)
 La Comédie de celui qui épousa une femme muette, (1908)
 Le Mannequin d'osier, (1928)

Historical biography 
 Vie de Jeanne d'Arc (1908)

Literary criticism 
 Alfred de Vigny, étude (1869)
 Le Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (1888)
 Le Génie Latin (1913)

Social criticism 
 Opinions sociales (1902)
 Le Parti noir (1904)
 Vers les temps meilleurs (1906)
 Sur la voie glorieuse (1915)

Other websites 
 Anatole France Biography at LitWeb
 Works by Anatole France at Internet Archive
 Anatole France, Nobel Prize Winner by Herbert S. Gorman, The New York Times, 20 November 1921

1844 births
1924 deaths
French critics
French Nobel Prize winners
French novelists
French poets
Members of the Académie française
Pen names
Writers from Paris