Irene Nemirovsky

Irene was arrested by French police on July 13, 1942 because she was a foreign Jew.  She died a month later in Auschwitz.  She is mostly an unknown even though she was a prolific and intelligent writer.  Irene was married with 2 children.  Her husband also died at Auschwitz.  Her writing style was matter-of-fact, not sentimental.  She was a moralist writer.  In life she was innately an optimist.  Nemirovsky is best known now for "Suite Francaise."  It was finally published only recently in 2004 and it became an international best seller.  Mr. Nemirovsky gave the manuscript and the couple's 2 daughters to a governess.  Both daughters and the manuscript somehow survived the Nazis.  One daughter, Denise, could not look at the manuscript for over 50 years.