André Maurois

French writer of essays and novels who wrote under the name of Emile Herzog and was best known as a biographer. Some of his works included "Ariel," "The Life of Shelley," 1924 "Desraeli," 1927 "Byron," 1930 and "Dickens," 1934. He lectured widely on both European and U.S. tours. Maurois was elected into the French Academy in 1938.

The son of a textile manufacturer, he was educated at Rouen lycee and worked in his father's factory until WW I. A few of his books were based on his experience as a liaison officer with the British army. During WW II he served first as captain in the French army attached to the British GHQ and then after a period in the U.S., he served from 1943 as part of the Allied forces in North Africa.

Maurois married Janine de Szymkiewicz in 1912 and she died in 1924. A second marriage to Simone de Caillavet was made in 1926.

He died on 9 September 1967, Paris, France.