Born in Paris in 1919, Michel Déon is the author of more than 50 works of fiction and non-fiction, and a member of the Académie française. His 1970 novel Les Poneys Sauvages was awarded the prestigious Prix Interallié and in 1973 Le Taxi Mauve (later made into a film starring Fred Astaire and Charlotte Rampling) won the Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie Française. Le Jeune Homme Vert (The Foundling Boy) was published in 1975, with the sequel published two years later. Déon lives in Ireland with his wife, Chantal, and their horses.