Background
René François Nicolas Marie Bazin studied law at the University of Paris and at the new Catholic University of Angers, where, in 1878, he was appointed professor of law, a post he held for more than 40 years. He was a contributor to the Journal des Débats,Debats, the Revue des Deux Mondes, and several other periodicals and newspapers. In 1903 he was elected to the AcadémieAcademie FrançaiseFrancaise and in 1915 appointed president of the Corporation des Publicistes Chrétiens.Chretiens. During his entire life he was active in Catholic organizations and welfare work. As a novelist Bazin represents the antithesis of the Zolaesque type of naturalism. A staunch Catholic, he sought the good beneath the surface and painted the virtues of faith, sacrifice, and humility in the simple country life. His novels deal with social problems, usually the struggle between the old and the new, in which Bazin invariably upholds tradition. He was a good storyteller and achieved an almost poetic quality in his descriptions of country life, but, owing to his optimistic and idealistic viewpoint, he fell somewhat short in his analysis of character and situation. Bazin wrote more than 50 books, consisting of short stories, biographies, novels, and accounts of his travels in France, Spain, Italy, Sicily, and the E.