Romain Rolland
Biography
Romain Rolland (1866–1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Born in Clamecy, Nièvre, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and became a professor of music history. His monumental novel Jean-Christophe (1904–1912), a ten-volume roman-fleuve about a German musical genius, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1915. He was a committed pacifist during World War I, and his novel Clerambault (1920) is one of the most powerful anti-war novels of the era. Rolland was also known for his biographies of Beethoven, Michelangelo, and Tolstoy, and his correspondence with Gandhi.
Common themes in Romain Rolland's work
Nobel Prize literature
A recurring theme throughout Romain Rolland's writing.
French fiction
A recurring theme throughout Romain Rolland's writing.
Pacifism
A recurring theme throughout Romain Rolland's writing.
Musical genius
A recurring theme throughout Romain Rolland's writing.
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Why Romain Rolland is still read today
Rolland’s Nobel Prize-winning Jean-Christophe is one of the great European novels of the 20th century. His pacifist writings during WWI made him a moral authority for a generation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Romain Rolland?
Romain Rolland (1866–1944) was a French novelist and Nobel laureate (1915), known for Jean-Christophe and his pacifist stance during WWI.
What are his major works?
Jean-Christophe and Clerambault. Both are available free on TextStack.
Why did he win the Nobel Prize?
For Jean-Christophe, praised for its artistic idealism and broad human sympathy.
Where can I read Rolland free?
TextStack offers Rolland’s novels to read free online.
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