Germaine Beaumont

Germaine Beaumont (1890-1983), born Germaine Battendier in Petit-Couronne, France, was a French journalist and novelist, the daughter of writer Annie de Pène and friend of Colette, who helped launch her career at Le Matin newspaper. She authored over a dozen novels, most notably Piège (1930), for which she became the first woman to win the Prix Renaudot, along with other works like La Harpe irlandaise (1941) and Silsauve (1951), and also translated authors such as Truman Capote and Virginia Woolf. Her writing often featured mystery, poetic atmospheres influenced by English literature, earning her additional awards like the Prix Alice-Louis Barthou and Légion d'honneur.