Rouen, Le Havre, Caen, amongst others, are the birthplaces or homes of famous names in French and international literature.

 

Rouen, for centuries the cultural and political centre of the region, is the birthplace of :

 

• Pierre CORNEILLE (1606-1684) 
• FONTENELLE (1657-1757) Philosopher.
• Gustave FLAUBERT (1821-1880)
• Maurice LEBLANC (1864-1941) creater of Arsène Lupin

Le Havre, gateway to the sea, saw the birth of :

• Bernardin de SAINT-PIERRE (1737-1814)
• Raymond QUENEAU (1903-1976).

 

....... and Normandy's smaller towns and villages also produced future writers of renown, including :

 

• Alain CHARTIER (born around 1385 in Bayeux), who recorded the life in France occupied by the English during the 100 Years War,
• François de MALHERBE (1555-1628) born in Caen,
• Guy de MAUPASSANT (1850-1945) born at the Château de Miromesnil at Tourville-sur-Arques, the writer of genius whose stories of daily life in 19th century Normandy are now classics,
• Roland BARTHES (1915-1980) born in Cherbourg.

Without forgetting so many writers who settled in Normandy, where they found their inspiration and wrote their works, such as  Marcel Proust, who fell under the spell of Cabourg, Jacques Prévert, who loved to spend time at his house in Omonville-la-Petite, and Françoise Sagan, lover of Honfleur.