The Light of a Woman

Romain Gary, a French writer of Russian roots, is known as the only two-time winner of the Goncourt Prize, which he received under two different names. The writer’s real name is Roman Kacev, and he’s also famous as a military aviator and diplomat. In 1956 he was awarded the prize as Romain Gary, and in 1975 as Émile Ajar—but he refused to accept the second award. Gary carefully hid the fact that Ajar had never existed, and only revealed it on the day of his death in 1980, sending the publisher the text “The Life and Death of Émile Ajar.” The writer continued to publish under both names, and one of his best-known works was the novel “The Light of a Woman” (1977), which explores the themes of love and death. The novel was adapted into a film by Costa-Gavras, starring Yves Montand and Romy Schneider.