Laurent Mauvignier and Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre Win 2025 Goncourt and Renaudot Literary Prizes
Laurent Mauvignier wins the 2025 Prix Goncourt for his novel 'La Maison vide,' while Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre clinches the Renaudot Prize for 'Je voulais vivre,' marking major literary achievements in France.
- • Laurent Mauvignier awarded Prix Goncourt 2025 for 'La Maison vide'.
- • The novel explores three generations and the trauma of two world wars in fictional La Bassée.
- • Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre wins Prix Renaudot for 'Je voulais vivre', a reimagined Milady character.
- • The awards highlight contemporary French literature's focus on family, history, and feminist themes.
Key details
On November 4, the Académie Goncourt awarded the prestigious Prix Goncourt 2025 to Laurent Mauvignier for his tenth novel, "La Maison vide," announced at the iconic Drouant restaurant in Paris. This 744-page work intricately weaves a family saga across three generations, focusing on the impact of two world wars and gendered trauma in the fictional Touraine town of La Bassée, inspired by Mauvignier's own childhood (129165, 129158, 129167, 129159).
Mauvignier's novel stands as a milestone in his literary career that began in 1999, heralded for its complex narrative structure and exploration of family silence, domestic violence, and inherited burdens. The jury vote was close, with Mauvignier prevailing over contenders such as Caroline Lamarche. Anticipated sales are projected to surpass 500,000 copies, offering a boost amid declining book sales nationwide (129165, 129167).
Concurrently, Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre received the Prix Renaudot for her novel "Je voulais vivre," a reimagining of Milady from Dumas’ "The Three Musketeers" as a deeply human and independent woman shaped by childhood trauma. The jury awarded her the prize in the seventh round, highlighting themes of coexisting good and evil and feminist perspectives. Alongside her win, the Renaudot essay and paperback prizes went to Alfred de Montesquiou and Boualem Sansal, respectively (129179).
These awards celebrate significant contributions to contemporary French literature, underscoring the evolving exploration of history, identity, and women's experiences in literary narratives.