The Crimes of Marguerite Duras
Literature and the Media in Twentieth-Century France

This book studies Marguerite Duras's use of mass media and criminal faits divers as critical components of her literary project.

Anne Brancky (Author)

9781108490382, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 July 2020

200 pages, 7 b/w illus.
15.5 x 23.5 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

'Original and insightful, this timely volume sheds light on the broader implications of today's increasingly symbiotic relationship between literature and popular media.' C. B. Kerr, Choice

One of the most celebrated authors of twentieth-century France, Marguerite Duras loved crime. Indeed, criminal faits divers from the newspaper represented a key element in her literary project. Sensational news stories made their way into her novels, plays and screenplays, inspired numerous journalistic pieces and media interventions, and even informed the way that she discussed her life and work in the press. The Crimes of Marguerite Duras offers an innovative framework for analyzing Duras's literary works and journalism as they relate to the mass media and broader cultural debates. Anne Brancky reveals how Duras's predilection for provocatively blurring the line between truth and fiction on various media platforms helped make her a best-selling author and a public intellectual ahead of her time. Exploring the movement between serious literature and public scandal, this readable book affirms literature's abiding role in political debate and the public sphere.

Introduction. Marguerite Duras and the media
1. Marguerite Duras, journalist
2. Criminal affinities
3. Copycat crimes
4. Crimes of passion
5. Media crimes
Conclusion: The crimes of Marguerite Duras.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Literature & literary studies [D]