A Moroccan Trilogy: Rabat, Marrakesh and Fez

The Tharaud brothers became unique eyewitnesses to history when summoned in 1917 from the Western Front to Morocco by the Resident-General of the French Protectorate there, Lyautey. The colonial conquest of Morocco had been put on hold after the French army was summoned home in 1914. But in a delicate balancing act, Lyautey kept the peace by establishing a working alliance with some of the most powerful of the tribal lords of Morocco. It was part of a coherent policy to avoid the mistakes in Algeria and preserve Morocco's historical architecture, faith, and culture intact for future generations.

Jérôme and Jean Tharaud wrote as a single literary entity (J J Tharaud) like the Goncourt brothers before them. They travelled and composed their books together in a seamless pattern, reading each other’s initial observations in notebooks, writing first drafts and then working up and editing the texts by turn. They made their name exposing the imperialist agenda behind Rudyard Kipling’s writings in the novel, Dingley. The Moroccan trilogy is saluted as ‘the most memorable of all their books.’ They were both members of the French Academy and were considered part of the ‘Academy of Dissidence’ opposed to the Vichy regime in the Second World War

Jérôme and Jean Tharaud wrote as a single literary entity (J J Tharaud) like the Goncourt brothers before them. They travelled and composed their books together in a seamless pattern, reading each other’s initial observations in notebooks, writing first drafts and then working up and editing the texts by turn. They made their name exposing the imperialist agenda behind Rudyard Kipling’s writings in the novel, Dingley. The Moroccan trilogy is saluted as ‘the most memorable of all their books.’ They were both members of the French Academy and were considered part of the ‘Academy of Dissidence’ opposed to the Vichy regime in the Second World War