He published over 50 works and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix Interallié for his 1970 novel, Les Poneys sauvages (The Wild Ponies).

Déon's 1973 novel Un taxi mauve received the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française.

His father took his family along on the many foreign trips his work required, stimulating his son's interest in travel and cross-cultural relations that came to define his writings.

[citation needed] This crucial experience is related in Déon's book of memories, "les Vingt ans du jeune homme vert" ( or Green young man, see below.)

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.

They were recognized for their innovative unconventionality, sympathy for the bizarre underdog, and pervasive refusal to adopt fashionable themes and tone.

It begins in 1937, as George, Barry, Cyril, and Horace, students of varying backgrounds, complete their educations at the University of Cambridge.

An English-language film based on the novel, released in 1977 and called The Purple Taxi in English, starred Fred Astaire, Charlotte Rampling, and Philippe Noiret.

[6] In The Foundling Boy (Le Jeune Homme Vert) (1975), the infant Jean, born in 1919, is adopted by a rural couple who help maintain a wealthy family's estate.

The novel follows his adventures and those of several others, notably the owner of the estate on which he is raised, until he joins the French army at the start of World War II.

Diane Johnson compared Jean to Fielding's Tom Jones, noting how "his picaresque adventures unfold in cheerful profusion, in and out of foreign countries and strange beds".

It shows him hugging a beautiful girl named Sheila, an obscure yet unforgettable woman he met in England during the war.

Employing the gods, muses, and legendary Greek figures, alongside historical events and characters, Déon weaves Greece's dual histories together to create a beautiful and inspiring picture of the culture.

The Great and the Good (La Cour Des Grands, 1996) follows the life of Arthur Morgan, the son of an impoverished French widow.

He is offered a first class boat ticket to the United States in 1950 and there experiences all the classic elements of the American dream, graduating college and moving to New York City where he becomes a successful stockbroker.

(Cavalier, passe ton chemin!, 2005) offers a social history of the Irish people that combines fact and fiction.