Anne Golon was a French author, widely recognized as Sergeanne Golon to English-speaking readers, renowned for her Angélique novels that have reportedly sold 150 million copies worldwide and have inspired numerous adaptations.
Born Simone Changeux on December 17, 1921, in Toulon, a port in southeastern France, she was the daughter of Pierre Changeux, a scientist and French Navy captain. Anne demonstrated an early interest in painting and writing, publishing her first novel, "The Country From Behind My Eyes," at the age of 18 under the pseudonym Joëlle Danterne.
During World War II, Anne traveled through France to Spain by bicycle and wrote using different pen names. She also contributed to the creation of France Magazine and received a literary prize for "The Patrol of the Saint Innocents."
As a journalist, Anne was sent to Africa, where she met her future husband, Vsevolod Sergeïvich Goloubinoff, better known as Serge Golon, in 1947. They collaborated on "Angélique: Marquise of the Angels" (1956),the first installment in the Angélique series, which became an overnight success.
Initially, the Angélique novels were credited to both Anne and Serge Golon in France, with Anne being the author and Serge conducting much of the historical research. Later, British publishers combined their names as "Sergeanne Golon" when translating the series into English.
The popularity of the Angélique novels led to a series of five feature films directed by Bernard Borderie in the 1960s, starring Michèle Mercier as Angélique and Robert Hossein as her husband, Joffrey de Peyrac.
In 1972, Anne and Serge traveled to Canada to research a new Angélique novel, but tragically, Serge passed away that year. Anne continued writing, raising their four children, and produced four more volumes between 1972 and 1985, starting with the second half of "Ghosts" (published in France as a single volume, "Angélique in Quebec") and proceeding through "La Victoire d'Angélique."
By the 1990s, Anne's financial situation had deteriorated, and she filed a lawsuit against the French publisher Hachette for copyright infringement and unpaid royalties. After a nearly decade-long legal battle, Anne reached an agreement in 2006, securing her rights as the sole owner of the Angélique series.
Anne Golon passed away on July 14, 2017, in Versailles, France, due to peritonitis.
