Michel del Castillo

Michel Janicot del Castillo (2 August 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a French writer.

Life and career

Michel del Castillo was born in Madrid on 2 August 1933. His father, Michel Janicot, was French and his mother, Cándida Isabel del Castillo, was Spanish.

Interned in the concentration camp Rieucros in Mende with his mother during the Second World War, he developed a sense of belonging to this town, which has honoured him by naming a school after him.

He first studied politics and psychology, then turned to literature. Influenced by Miguel de Unamuno and Fyodor Dostoevsky, his books received many literary prizes, namely Prix Chateaubriand for Le Silence des Pierres (1975); Renaudot for La nuit du Décret (1981); Prix Maurice Genevoix for Rue des Archives (1994); Prix de l’Écrit Intime for Mon frère l’Idiot (1995); and Prix Femina essai for Colette, une Certaine France (1999).

In 1997 he became a member of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique, succeeding Georges Duby.

Aside from travelling, he was very keen on classical music, and considered at some point making a career as a pianist. Castillo died on 17 December 2024, at the age of 91.