CAMUS, ALBERT

born Nov. 7, 1913, Mondovi, Alg. died Jan. 4, 1960, near Sens, France Camus, photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson French novelist, essayist, and playwright, best known for such novels as L'tranger (1942; The Stranger), La Peste (1947; The Plague), and La Chute (1956; The Fall) and for his work in leftist causes. He received the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature. Additional reading Bibliographies of works by and about Camus include Robert F. Roeming (ed. and compiler), Camus: A Bibliography (1968); and Brian T. Fitch and Peter C. Hoy, Essai de bibliographie des tudes en langue franaise consacres Albert Camus, 19371967, 2nd ed. (1969). Camus's main works are published with excellent editorial material in Thtre, rcits, nouvelles, ed. by Roger Quilliot (1962, reissued 1991); and Essais, ed. by Roger Quilliot and L. Faucon (1965, reissued 1993). Collections of Camus's writings in English translation are The Collected Fiction of Albert Camus (1960); Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, trans. by Justin O'Brien (1960, reissued 1995); and Lyrical and Critical, ed. by Philip Thody (1967; also published as Lyrical and Critical Essays, 1968).Biographies include Morvan Lebesque, Portrait of Camus: An Illustrated Biography (1971; originally published in French, 1963); Herbert R. Lottman, Albert Camus: A Biography (1979, reissued 1997); and Patrick McCarthy, Camus (1982).Bettina L. Knapp (ed.), Critical Essays on Albert Camus (1988), presents a collection of 15 essays, including one by Jean-Paul Sartre. Critical studies of his works and ideas include Jean-Claude Brisville, Camus (1959, reissued 1969); John Cruickshank, Albert Camus and the Literature of Revolt (1959, reprinted 1978); Philip Thody, Albert Camus, 19131960 (1961), and Albert Camus (1989); Germaine Bre, Camus, rev. ed. (1964, reissued 1972); Adele King, Camus (1964, reissued 1971); Emmett Parker, Albert Camus: The Artist in the Arena (1965); Roger Quilliot, The Sea and Prisons: A Commentary on the Life and Thought of Albert Camus (1970; originally published in French, rev. ed., 1970); Brian T. Fitch, The Narcissistic Text: A Reading of Camus' Fiction (1982); Susan Tarrow, Exile from the Kingdom: A Political Rereading of Albert Camus (1985); David Sprintzen, Camus: A Critical Examination (1988); Philip H. Rhein, Albert Camus, rev. ed. (1989); and Joseph McBride, Albert Camus: Philosopher and Littrateur (1992). Among numerous studies of individual works are Patrick McCarthy, Albert Camus, The Stranger (1988); Adele King (ed.), Camus's L'tranger: Fifty Years On (1992), a collection of original essays by leading Camus scholars; and Steven G. Kellman, The Plague: Fiction and Resistance (1993). Major Works: Novels and short stories L'tranger (1942; English title, The Outsider, 1946; U.S. title, The Stranger, 1946); La Peste (1947; The Plague, 1948); La Chute (1956; The Fall, trans. by Justin O'Brien, 1957). Short stories collected in L'Exil et le royaume (1957; Exile and the Kingdom, trans. by J. O'Brien, 1958); La mort heureuse (1970; A Happy Death, 1972). Plays Le Malentendu (performed 1944; pub. with Caligula, performed 1945, in Le Malentendu, suivi de Caligula, 1944; Caligula and Cross Purpose, 1947); L'tat de sige (performed and pub. in 1948; State of Siege, trans. in Caligula and Three Other Plays, 1958); Les Justes (performed 1949, pub. 1950; The Just Assassins, trans. in Caligula and Three Other Plays, 1958). Adaptations: La Dvotion la Croix (1953, from Caldern); Un Cas intressant (1955, from Dino Buzatti); Requiem pour une nonne (1956, from William Faulkner); Les Possds (1959, from Dostoyevsky). Essays, journalism, and notebooks Collections: L'Envers et l'endroit (1937), recollections of childhood and travel sketches; Noces (1938), four Algerian essays; Actuelles, 3 vol. (1950, 1953, 1958), editorials and articles written for Combat, 194445; L't (1954). Other essays: Le Mythe de Sisyphe, essai sur l'absurde (1942, enlarged and rev. ed. reprinted 1945; The Myth of Sisyphus, trans. by J. O'Brien, 1955), a long philosophical essay; Lettres un ami allemand (1945; trans. by J. O'Brien in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, 1960), four linked essays, with preface, in the form of letters written during the Occupation, the first and second previously published in the underground reviews, Le Revue Libre (1943) and Cahiers de la Libration (1944); Le Minotaure ou la halte d'Oran (written 1939, pub. 1950), poetic and satirical description of Oran, the background for La Peste; L'Homme rvolt (1951; The Rebel, 1953), a long metaphysical, historical, and political essay. Notebooks published posthumously: Carnets: Mai 1935Fvrier 1942 (1962; Notebooks, 193542, trans. by Philip Thody, 1963); Carnets: Janvier 1942Mars 1951 (1964; Notebooks, 194251, trans. by P. Thody, 1965); Carnets: Avril 1951Dcembre 1959 (1966; Notebooks, 195159, trans. by P. Thody, 1969).