Louis-Ferdinand Céline

Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961), born Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches, was a French novelist, polemicist, and physician whose debut novel Journey to the End of the Night (1932) won the Prix Renaudot and revolutionized French literature with its innovative use of colloquial speech. His other major works include Death on the Installment Plan (1936) and Castle to Castle (1957). Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest French novelists despite controversies over his antisemitic writings and wartime collaboration.