Mireille Lemarchand (pseudonym Mireille Best; born 4 June 1943; died 16 January 2005), story writer and novelist, was known for her singular prose style that marked her as a literary heir of the French New Novel. A pioneer in that her protagonists were working class lesbians, Mireille Best received critical acclaim in the French, German, and Dutch press, but is not widely known in academic circles. Published by the prestigious French publishing house Gallimard, Best wrote four volumes of short stories (

Les Mots de hasard

[

Chance Words

](1980),

Le Méchant petit jeune homme

[

The Naughty Little Boy

] (1983),

Une Extrême attention

[

An Extreme Attention

] (1985),

Orphéa trois

[

Orphea Three

] (1991)) and three novels (

Hymne aux Murènes

[

Hymn to the Moray Eels

] (1986),

Camille en octobre

[

2949 words

Citation: Schechner, Stephanie. "Mireille Best". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 July 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13478, accessed 29 March 2024.]

13478 Mireille Best 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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