Pascal Quignard was born in Verneuil-sur-Avre in 1948, but spent part of his childhood in Le Havre between 1950 and 1958.

Le Havre often appears in his works, through the author’s childhood memories, who still remembers the sight of a city being completely rebuilt and still bearing the scars of WWII bombings. His writings thus incite to ponder over History and are a symbol of the destruction of mankind by mankind. Being the author’s birthplace, the city in also related to his first readings and his literary vocation.

Finally, Le Havre is often included in his fictions’ settings, as for instance in some scenes in The Roving Shadows and La Leçon de Musique.

Marcel Pagliero’s film A Man Walks in the City (1950) features several images of Le Havre being rebuilt.