Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre

Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre is an award-winning French novelist and journalist. A graduate of the École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud and the Sorbonne University, she began her career in investment banking before turning to journalism, working for Madame Figaro, the radio station RTL and the television channels France 2 and Paris première before becoming Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Point de Vue, a magazine she acquired through a management buy-out in 2018 backed by investment funds and the Pinault family office.

A passionate reader, Adélaïde also serves on the juries of several prestigious French literary prizes, including the Prix de la Closerie des Lilas that she co-founded. Her first novel, Fourrure (Éditions Stock, 2010), was met with widespread acclaim, winning five literary prizes—including the Prix Maison de la Presse, the Prix Françoise Sagan, and the Prix Premier Roman de Femme—and was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt’s Best Debut Novel prize. Her second novel, The Last of Our Kind (Éditions Grasset, 2016), was both a critical and commercial success. Le Point’s Marc Lambron wrote: “Here is a kind of novel that rarely comes out of France; that is to say, hardly French at all, rather ‘pulp fiction’, with a real Americana spirit and saga-esque feel.” The novel was awarded the Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie française.

Her third novel, Our Happy Days (Éditions Grasset, 2021), received widespread critical acclaim and was awarded the Prix du Roman de la Ville de Cabourg.

Her most recent novel, Milady (Éditions Grasset, 2025), a bold reimagining of one of literature’s most iconic heroines, became both a critical and commercial phenomenon. Winner of the Prix Renaudot and the Prix du livre d’Histoire de Blois, it has sold more than 250,000 copies to date, further establishing Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre as one of the leading voices in contemporary French literature.

For her contributions to culture, journalism and literature, Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and awarded the Légion d’honneur. Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre lives in Paris with her husband and twin boys. She speaks English fluently.