French · 1886–1914
French author who wrote one novel and died at twenty-seven. Born Henri-Alban Fournier in central France, he failed the entrance exam to the École Normale Supérieure, worked as a literary secretary, and poured a decade of longing into Le Grand Meaulnes (1913). The book's blend of adventure, memory, and impossible love made it an instant classic—still required reading in French schools. One month into World War I, Alain-Fournier disappeared during an attack near Verdun; his body was not found until 1991. That single novel secured his place: a portrait of adolescence suspended between reality and dream.