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Simone de Beauvoir

Born

in Paris, France

January 09, 1908

Died

April 14, 1986

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction, Politics

Influences

Georg Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Jean-Paul Sartre, Edmund Husserl, Kierkega ...more

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Simone de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher, novelist, essayist, memoirist, and feminist whose writings profoundly shaped twentieth-century philosophy, literature, and modern feminist thought. Born in Paris into a bourgeois Catholic family, she displayed exceptional intellectual ability from an early age. After studying philosophy at the Sorbonne, she passed the prestigious agrégation examination in 1929, becoming one of its youngest successful candidates. During her studies she met Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom she formed a lifelong intellectual and personal partnership that became central to the development of French existentialism. Although Beauvoir often rejected the title of philosopher during her lifetime, her work estab Simone de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher, novelist, essayist, memoirist, and feminist whose writings profoundly shaped twentieth-century philosophy, literature, and modern feminist thought. Born in Paris into a bourgeois Catholic family, she displayed exceptional intellectual ability from an early age. After studying philosophy at the Sorbonne, she passed the prestigious agrégation examination in 1929, becoming one of its youngest successful candidates. During her studies she met Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom she formed a lifelong intellectual and personal partnership that became central to the development of French existentialism. Although Beauvoir often rejected the title of philosopher during her lifetime, her work established her as one of the discipline's most influential modern thinkers. She explored themes of freedom, responsibility, ethics, oppression, and human existence through both philosophical and literary writing. Her groundbreaking book The Second Sex (1949) transformed feminist theory by arguing that femininity is shaped primarily by social and historical conditions rather than biology, introducing the celebrated idea that "one is not born, but rather becomes, woman." The work challenged traditional assumptions about gender and became one of the foundational texts of contemporary feminism. Beauvoir also authored influential philosophical studies, including The Ethics of Ambiguity, alongside acclaimed novels such as She Came to Stay, The Blood of Others, The Mandarins, which received the Prix Goncourt in 1954, and The Woman Destroyed. Her four-volume autobiography, beginning with Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, remains an important account of twentieth-century intellectual and cultural life. Throughout her career she served as co-founder and editor of the influential journal Les Temps Modernes, contributing essays on politics, literature, philosophy, and contemporary social issues. Beyond her writing, Beauvoir was deeply engaged in public life. She campaigned for women's rights, reproductive freedom, and social equality, signing the Manifesto of the 343 that called for the legalization of abortion in France. She also opposed colonialism, criticized social injustice, and supported progressive political causes throughout her life. Her travels inspired widely read travel books and essays examining cultures in the United States and China. Beauvoir's legacy extends far beyond feminism, influencing existential philosophy, literary criticism, political theory, ethics, sociology, and gender studies. Despite continuing debate over aspects of her personal life and controversial relationships, her intellectual contributions remain central to modern scholarship. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and continue to be studied worldwide for their philosophical depth and literary achievement. Honored with distinctions including the Prix Goncourt, the Jerusalem Prize, and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, Simone de Beauvoir is widely regarded as one of the defining intellectual figures of the twentieth century, whose writings permanently transformed discussions of gender, freedom, morality, and the human condition while continuing to inspire scholars, writers, and activists across generations.
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Simone de Beauvoir’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 246,801 ratings · 26,604 reviews · 257 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, H.M. Parshley (Translator & Editor), Deirdre Bair (Introduction) 4.19 avg rating — 49,348 ratings — published 1949 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir, Patrick O'Brian (Translator) 4.01 avg rating — 50,405 ratings — published 1967 — 172 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Inseparable by Simone de Beauvoir, Sandra Smith (Translator), Margaret Atwood (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 4.08 avg rating — 30,380 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir, James Kirkup (Translator) 4.12 avg rating — 19,383 ratings — published 1958 — 223 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Very Easy Death 4.06 avg rating — 16,297 ratings — published 1964 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ethics of Ambiguity 4.17 avg rating — 8,548 ratings — published 1947 — 70 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All Men Are Mortal 4.12 avg rating — 8,148 ratings — published 1946 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mandarins 4.20 avg rating — 6,806 ratings — published 1954 — 168 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Le deuxième sexe, I 4.21 avg rating — 6,545 ratings — published 1949 — 81 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	She Came to Stay 3.87 avg rating — 5,873 ratings — published 1943 — 128 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Simone de Beauvoir…

Series by Simone de Beauvoir

Le deuxième sexe (2 books)
by

Simone de Beauvoir

4.19 avg rating — 57,806 ratings

Simone de Beauvoir: omaelämänkerta (8 books)
by

Simone de Beauvoir

4.10 avg rating — 38,645 ratings

Les Mandarins (2 books)
by

Simone de Beauvoir,

سيمون دي بوفوار,

ماري طوق (translator)

4.18 avg rating — 1,226 ratings

Lettres a Sartre (3 books)
by

Simone de Beauvoir

4.04 avg rating — 856 ratings

The Beauvoir Series (7 books)
by

Simone de Beauvoir,

Margaret A. Simons (Editor),

Margaret Simons (Editor)

4.07 avg rating — 369 ratings

More series by Simone de Beauvoir…

We all have our reading bucket lists. James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is bound to seriously expand that list...

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1st Quarter 2024 Long Read Poll

Swann's Way by Marcel Proust, 1913, 615 pp

71 votes, 29.7%

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47 votes, 19.7%

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40 votes, 16.7%

Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, 1841, 744 pp

35 votes, 14.6%

The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir, 1954, 752 pp

34 votes, 14.2%

They Were Counted by Miklós Bánffy, 1934.,696 pp

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3 votes, 1.3%

239 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2010-2011 Completed Tasks (do not delete any posts)	2578	1121	Feb 28, 2011 09:05PM
Reading the Chunk...: The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir	38	101	Apr 11, 2012 11:47AM
Language & Grammar : Author Alphabet	1889	428	Jun 01, 2012 02:35AM
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Challenge: 50 Books: Aubrey's 50 in 2012	72	140	Oct 10, 2012 12:45AM
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2012-2013: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2485	871	Feb 28, 2013 09:01PM
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