This master’s thesis is a study of the novels that received the Goncourt Prize (Prix Goncourt) between 2009 and 2018; the prize is awarded for the best French novel of the year. The historical introduction describing the formation of the prize, which was based on the last will of Edmond de Goncourt, is followed by a presentation of the manner in which the Goncourt Academy operates, their (non-)existent criteria for winner selection, the list of academy members, and a summary of the most resounding controversies connected with this literary award. Afterwards, each of the ten award-winning novels (between 2009 and 2018) is analysed separately; the analysis is divided into four parts. In the first part, a summary of the four shortlisted works for each year is presented, which is followed by the biography and bibliography of each laureate. The third part of the analysis is dedicated to the literary-critical analysis of each novel, whereas the fourth and final part overviews the reception of the award-winning novel by the French press. Even though the members of the Goncourt academy deny the existence of selection criteria for the prize, based on the analysis of the ten awarded novels, notwithstanding their formal and thematic variety, we can discern the jury’s preference for historical novels and the aesthetics of realism, which partly extends into naturalism.
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