his travels through the United States. While there, Déon worked alongside William Faulkner and Saul Bellow. Their collaboration proved beneficial for all three of them and Déon assisted Bellow in translating his works into French. Alongside such contemporary French writers as Jacques Laurent, Antoine Blondin, and Roger Nimier, Déon staunchly opposed the existentialism of Sartre and other prominent cultural figures. Déon and his fellow authors became known as Les Hussards, named after Nimier's novel The Blue Hussar. They were recognized for their innovative unconventionality, sympathy for the bizarre underdog, and pervasive refusal to adopt fashionable themes and tone. In 1944, Roland Laudenbach and Jean Cocteau founded Éditions de la Table ronde (Round Table Publishing), a publishing enterprise that published works by many members of Les Hussards. Table ronde published several of Déon's novels, including Les Gens de la Nuit, La Carotte et le Bâton, and Tout L'Amour du Monde II. After Table ronde became a subsidiary of Éditions Gallimard around 1970, Gallimard published more than twenty of Déon's works. In 1970, Déon's novel Les Poneys sauvages (The Wild Ponies) was awarded the Prix Interallié, given annually since 1930 to the best novel written by a journalist. Déon wrote his critical masterpiece Un taxi mauve (A Purple Taxi) in 1973. It became an immediate literary sensation and won the Grand Prix du Roman de l'Académie française. Un Taxi Mauve was made into a film in 1977. The following year, 1978, Déon was elected to the Académie française. In addition to his numerous individual works and awards, Déon has collaborated with several public figures. In 1953, he assisted Coco Chanel in writing her autobiography, though she refused to have it published. Déon destroyed the only existing copy for the sake of his friendship with her. In 1966, Déon worked with Salvador Dalí on the artist's memoirs, Diary of a Genius. Personal life Much of Déon's work engages his experience via travel to such locations as Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and Portugal. During the 1940s, he explored the United States by Greyhound Bus. Déon was an affiliate member of the Portuguese Academy of Science and Letters. He is a doctor honoris causa at the universities of Athens and Ireland. He is also an honorary citizen of Nice, Aix-en-Provence, and Antibes. His works have been translated into many languages. Déon and his wife Chantal raised their two children, Alice and Alexandre, on the small Greek