Chaos and Night

“A magnificent novel of a type that only Montherlant could produce…The author’s feat in embodying much of himself in such an exceptional creation wile maintaining his customary austerity of view an of style, his almost frightening insolence and is extraordinary gift for characterization evoke…admiration.” –New York Times Book Review

“Indisputably a magnificent writer.” –Saturday Review

“Written with intense control and beautifully translated, Chaos and Night is one of those rare explorations of the place where political commitment, religious faith, illusion and necessity intersect, where morality and mortality come to terms.” –The New York Times

“Wry and likeable” –Time

“Admired by such as Malraux, Camus, Graham Greene and Peter Quennell…[and] one of the few French dramatists worthy of ranking with Corneille and Racine…This is a magnificent novel of a type that only he could produce…Henry de Montherlant will live as one of the outstanding writers of the century.” –The New York Times

“Well rendered in English by Terence Kilmartin.” –The New York Review of Books

Henry de Montherlant (1896-1972)

Born and raised in Neuilly, outside of Paris, Henry de Montherlant’s early life was marked by a staunchly reactionary father and an invalid mother, both of whom doted on him. Expelled from high school for homosexual activity, Montherlant briefly studied law before enlisting in the army and being wounded in World War I. His first novel, The Dream (1922), celebrated warrior camaraderie, a theme echoed in several subsequent works.

Montherlant’s mature voice emerged with The Bachelors (1934), which explored human behavioral aberrations and psychology with a sardonic, bemused, and uncomforting tone. This novel won the Grand Prix of the French Academy and was followed by The Girls (1936-39), a collection of four novels considered one of his major achievements and an international bestseller.

During World War II, Montherlant remained in occupied Paris, publishing right-wing critiques of the fallen Third Republic, which later led to accusations of collaborationism. He also transitioned from fiction to drama, establishing himself as a prominent French playwright. In 1960, he was elected to the Académie Française. After years of declining health, Montherlant committed suicide in 1972.

Terence Kilmartin

Terence Kilmartin served as the literary editor of The Observer from 1951 to 1985. He translated several of Henry de Montherlant’s novels, including The Bachelors, The Girls, and The Boys. Kilmartin also translated works by André Malraux and Françoise Sagan, among others. His revision of C.K. Scott Moncrieff’s translation of Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past was published in 1981. Kilmartin passed away in 1991.

Gary Indiana

Gary Indiana is a critic and novelist. His recent works include Utopia’s Debris: Selected Essays and the novel The Shanghai Gesture, published in 2009. He was the senior art critic for The Village Voice from 1985 to 1988 and has contributed to publications such as New York magazine, Artforum, and the London Review of Books.

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