The Prime of Life
Simone de Beauvoir
The Prime of Life
The second memoir volume, covering Beauvoir's life with Jean-Paul Sartre, teaching, travel, first books, and the German occupation of France.
Read our takeForce of Circumstance
Simone de Beauvoir
Force of Circumstance
The third memoir volume, covering postwar fame, political conflict, travel, The Second Sex, and the Algerian War.
- 1963
- Atmospheric
- Melancholy
- autobiographical
- intimate
- voice-driven
About Simone de Beauvoir
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeBeauvoir recounts the years after the liberation of France, when she and Jean-Paul Sartre became internationally known writers and political figures. The volume covers literary work, travel, Communism, decolonization, personal relationships, and her changing view of her own life.
The story, in more detail
The memoir begins with the hopes of liberation and follows their collision with Cold War politics. Beauvoir describes Les Temps modernes, the reception of her books, travel in the United States and China, and disputes within the French left.
The Algerian War gives the later sections their greatest urgency. Beauvoir opposed French torture and colonial violence and worked with the lawyer Gisèle Halimi on the case of Djamila Boupacha. The memoir also records judgments and omissions that later readers must compare with evidence beyond Beauvoir's own account.
The life covered
Early chapters cover liberation, new journals and books, American travel, and the expanding public role of the postwar French intellectual.
The middle years include The Second Sex, international travel, political alliances, and personal relationships under the pressure of fame.
The closing period centers on the Algerian War and on Beauvoir's recognition that history had overturned many expectations with which the postwar years began.
Why we recommend it
Why it matters
It places Beauvoir's major books inside the political arguments and personal circumstances in which she wrote them.
Where it fits
Read it after The Prime of Life, then follow with All Said and Done for Beauvoir's later reassessment.
What this book explores
Timeline
1963
Gallimard publishes La Force des choses in Paris.
English editions
Translations publish the work under the title Force of Circumstance; dates and wording vary by edition.
Book editions
Paperback
- Paperback
- Gallimard
- 1963
Reader reviews
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All Said and Done
Simone de Beauvoir
All Said and Done
A later memoir in which Beauvoir reviews her work, travel, political commitments, friendships, and changing experience of age.
Read our takeForce of Circumstance: frequently asked questions
What is Force of Circumstance by Simone de Beauvoir about?
Beauvoir recounts the years after the liberation of France, when she and Jean-Paul Sartre became internationally known writers and political figures. The volume covers literary work, travel, Communism, decolonization, personal relationships, and her changing view of her own life.
When was Force of Circumstance published?
Gallimard first published La Force des choses in French in 1963.
Should I read Force of Circumstance first?
Usually not. Start with The Second Sex for Beauvoir's major argument, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter for her life, or The Mandarins for a novel, then return to Force of Circumstance.