René-Victor Pilhes

René Victor Pilhes (1 July 1934 – 6 February 2021) was a French writer and publicist.

Pilhes began working as an advertising executive at Air France then at Publicis as Creative Director and Executive Board Member, before devoting himself entirely to literature where he views society as a moralist. He was also a director of TF1. He was married on 19 December 1959 to Nicole Ingrand, with whom he has three children: Nathalie, Laurent, Maria. His best known work is The Curse.

René Jean Laurent Pilhes (pronounced "Pills") came from old families of the Ariège. His great-uncle Victor Pilhes was a deputy in the Second Republic, and he has added that name to his own since his first novel. It is in this region that he grew up, at Seix; mountains and villages of Ariège punctuate many of his novels. An illegitimate child, he was raised by his maternal grandmother. Illegitimacy is also the subject of his first novel, Rhubarb. He attended college at Saint-Girons, high school in Toulouse and then at Lycée Buffon in Paris, achieving a bachelor's degree. In June 1955 he was sent to Algeria where after his classes he became a midshipman and lieutenant. He stayed there until September 1957 and left marked by the experience.