Jean Anouilh was born in Bordeaux in the southwest of France in 1910. His father was a tailor known for his meticulousness, and his mother, a pianist, played in the orchestra of a casino in a seaside resort outside Bordeaux. At the resort, the young Anouilh was able to watch frequent operettas, which nurtured his interest in theater. At nine, Anouilh moved with his family to the Monmartre district of Paris, and by age twelve began writing verse plays acted for friends and relatives. At nineteen, he collaborated with Jean Aurenche on two plays, Humulus le muet and Mandarine. After briefly studying law at the Sorbonne, Anouilh became a gag writer from 1929-1931 for the cinema, and a copywriter at an advertising agency. In 1931, Anouilh married the actress Monelle Valentin and became secretary to one of the most important producer/ directors in the French theater, Louis Jouvet...