Paul Morand was a French author and diplomat whose literary career flourished during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. Educated at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and Oxford University, Morand was prepared for a diplomatic career that allowed him to travel extensively. As a writer, he became a cult favorite among the upper class and the artistic avant-garde, who praised his short stories and novellas for their style, wit, and descriptive power. He is often categorized as an early Modernist and Imagist. Born into privilege and married into wealth, Morand held various diplomatic posts and embraced a worldview defined by class distinction. His intellectual outlook was shaped by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Oswald Spengler, and Joseph Arthur de Gobineau. During World War II, Morand pledged allegiance to the collaborationist Vichy regime, serving as a government functionary. In the post-war era, Morand served as an inspirational figure and patron for the Hussards literary movement, which arose in opposition to existentialism. Despite his controversial wartime record, which drew opposition from figures like Charles de Gaulle, Morand made multiple bids for the prestigious Académie française, ultimately securing admission in 1968.
