In an age of French literature where the philosophically rich fictions of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and André Malraux were succeeded by the formal innovations of the New Novel, the enormous success of Françoise Sagan's fragile, classic novels and the legend of her tumultuous life are anomalies. If her flamboyant, unconventional personal image has tended to over-shadow her reputation as a writer, Sagan is still today a prolific, best-selling author. She has written novels, plays, short stories, screenplays, one ballet, and several nonfiction books, including two highly successful memoirs. Sagan has been a highly visible public figure in France. Since 1977 she has appeared regularly on Apostrophes, a popular television literary program. She has also served on the jury for the Cannes Film Festival. In 1985 Sagan was awarded the Prix de Monaco in recognition of her work as a whole.

Sagan was only seventeen years old...