Maxence Van der Meersch

In 1927, Maxence fell in love with Thérèze Denis, a poor working-class girl, with whom he lived in Wasquehal, against the wishes of his father, who dreamt of a more prestigious union for his son.

In 1943 he published Corps et âmes (Bodies and Souls), which was awarded the grand prix de l'Académie française for that year.

It centred round the ideas of a celebrated doctor, Dr. Paul Carton (1875-1947), for whom Van der Meersch had a profound admiration.

Quand les sirènes se taisent (1933) is set against the background of the Worker-priest movement active during strikes in northern French factories during the inter-war period.

L'Elu (1936) explores the theme of the influence of the Flemish and latent religious past among a family of ostensibly successful rationalists.

The sometimes iconoclastic, distinguished historian Richard Cobb called van der Meersch "a regionalist who had written almost exclusively about Roubaix and who had brought honour to the town by winning the Prix Goncourt."