by Romain Rolland

Romain Rolland (1866-1944) was a French writer and dramatist, best known as the author of the novel series Jean-Christophe (1904-12). His first book was published in 1902, when he was already 36 years old. Thirteen years later, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915. His mind sculpted by a passion for music and discursive admiration for exceptional men, he sought a means of communion among men for his entire life. Through his advocacy for a 'people's theatre', he made a significant contribution towards the democratization of the theatre. Because of his insistence upon justice and his humanist ideal, he looked for peace during and after the First World War in the works of the philosophers of India, then in the new world that the Soviet Union had built. But he would not find peace except in writing his works. He was strongly influenced by the Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, and authored several books on the subject. His works include: Amour d'Enfants (1888), The Origins of Modern Lyric Theatre (1895), The Wolves (1898) and Musicians of To-Day (1908).