Leo Perutz is a writer of German language, born the November 2nd 1882 with Prague and dead the August 25th 1957 with Bad Ischl. It was thus prone Empire Austro-Hungarian. He lived in Vienna until the Anschluss in 1938. Of Jewish origin, he emigrated in Palestine. He is relatively ignored in France.

Wire of industrialist, he hesitates for his studies between the Mathématiques and the Littérature, to launch out finally in the first way. He thus leaves Prague at 17 years to study with Vienna. He finds a formula which bears its name, and publishes a treaty of play of Bridge founded on the calculation of the Probabilités. In October 1907, it is employed like Actuaire by the Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali , where Franz Kafka also works at the same period during a few months.

In 1914, it is wounded on the face Is First World War. It is operated, to its request, without anesthesia, and throws the two coasts that one removes to him with a dog, which does not touch there. Of return to Vienna, it publishes its first work, the Third Ball , first novel characteristic of its style, which makes us follow an inexorable continuation in South America in the course of colonization by the Spaniards.

It reads Emile Zola, Robert Louis Stevenson, Anatole France, Georges Lenôtre, and continues its novels and its voyages. In spring 1925, it remains with Tunis, Sfax and Kairouan, then in the USSR in 1926 - 1927.

Its books start to meet some success: the Master of the last Judgment , published with Munich in 1923, is translated into French as of 1925, and the Marquis de Bolibar appears at Albin Michel as of 1930. Where you roll small Apple , which appears in 1928 like serialized story in Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, is read by 3 million readers. But at the end of the Years 1920, it is almost ruined, becomes widowed with the birth of its third child, and remarie.

It is received with the Gorsedd of Brittany to Riec-sur-Belon in 1927, and becomes active member of the Committee of patronage of An Oaled, re-examined published by François Taldir-Jaffrenou.

He writes in 1930 a play ( the Voyage in Presbourg ) in collaboration with Hans Adler who does not meet hoped success. In 1931, Ian Fleming, the “father” of James Bond, writes her admiration to him. He collaborates with the Austrian writer Paul Frank on several novels, of which the Cossack and the Nightingale , which is used as a basis for a film made in 1935. But in 1933, the Snow of Saint Pierre is prohibited by the Nazis and Perutz flees Vienna in 1938. It settles in Israel, with Tel-Aviv, where it takes again its trade of actuary, without anything to write until 1953.

He writes two letters, addressed one to the Public prosecutor of the Court of Appeal of Rennes the July 16th 1945 (N°430), the other with the Général de Gaulle (N°431), of Tel-Aviv (Israel), on October 1st 1945, for the defense of François Taldir-Jaffrenou, imprisoned after the release.

Mordecaï Meisel or Mordechai Meisl (or Maisl ) inspired its last novel " to him; The night under the bridge of pierre" (Nachts unter DER steinernen Brücke - 1953).

Starting from 1954, this good skier returns in Austria each year. It is at the time of one of these stays with Bad Ischl, close to Salzburg, which he dies the August 25th 1957.

Jorge Luis Borges underlined its genius, Paulhan and Caillois revealed it with the French public, while allotting to him in particular in 1962 the Night Prix. Paulhan wrote in July 1962 in the New French Review: “The Marquis de Bolibar, too little known, makes more once think of the first novels of Balzac. ”

Like Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Leo Perutz is impassioned of history, investigation, of justice, but also of fantastic. Its captivating novels, which are often continuations of individuals, evidence, answers or of absolute always reflect some gleams of optimism.

In its novels, Perutz manages to maintain suspense until an unforeseen fall which sows the doubt in the spirit of the reader as for the reality of the events of which it took note in the body of the account (see in particular the conclusion of the Snow of Saint-Pierre and that of the Maître of the last Judgment ).

Works translated into French

• 1915 : the third ball ( Die dritte Kugel ) - the Book of Pocket n°3128

• 1916: the miracle of the mango tree ( Das Mangobaumwunder ) in collaboration with Paul Frank - Collection 10/18 n°2904
• 1918: the turn of the dial ( Zwischen neun and neun ) - Collection 10/18 n°2159
• 1920: the marquis de Bolibar ( DER Marks of Bolibar ) - the Book of Pocket n°3236
• 1923: the Master of the last judgment , ( Der Meister of Jüngsten Tages ) - the Book of Pocket n°3173
• 1924: Turlupin ( Turlupin ) - the Book of Pocket n°3150
• 1927: the cossack and the nightingale ( Der Kosak und die Nachtigall ) in collaboration with Paul Frank - Collection 10/18 n°2957
• 1928: Where do you roll, small apple? ( Wohin rollst of, Äpfelchen… ) - the Book of Pocket n°3186
• 1930: Lord, have pity of me! ( Herr, erbarme Dich meiner ) - Collection 10/18 n°2679
• 1933: the snow of Saint Pierre ( St $petri Schnee ) - the Book of Pocket n°3107
• 1936: the Swedish rider ( DER schwedische Reiter ) - Collection 10/18 n°1964
• 1953: the night under the stone bridge ( Nachts unter DER steinernen Brücke ) - the Book of Pocket n°3138
• 1959: Judas of Léonard ( Der Judas of Leonardo ) - Collection 10/18 n°1965
• 1996: Night from May to Vienna and other accounts ( Mainacht in Wien ) - Beech, 1999