François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848) was born in Saint-Malo, on the northern coast of Brittany, the youngest son of an aristocratic family. Long recognized as one of the first French Romantics, Chateaubriand was also a historian, diplomat, and staunch defender of the freedom of the press. He is best remembered for his posthumously published Memoirs from Beyond the Grave (an NYRB Classic).

Alex Andriesse's essays and poems have appeared in Granta, Review of Contemporary Fiction, and Literary Imagination. His translations include Roberto Bazlen's Notes Without a Text and Other Writings and François-René de Chateaubriand's Memoirs from Beyond the Grave: 1768-1800, which is also available from NYRB Classics. He lives in the Netherlands.

Julien Gracq (1910-2007), born Louis Poirier, was a French writer of novels, plays, poetry, and literary criticism. His novel Balcony in the Forest is available from NYRB Classics.