Publishing alternately under his real name and under his pen name of Gabriel Osmonde, this Russian-French author penned such popular novels as Dreams of My Russian Summers (French title: Le Testament Fran ais) and Once Upon the River Love (Au Temps du Fleuve Amour). The former work won both the Prix Medicis and the Prix Goncourt. During his childhood years, he wrote poetry in both the Russian and French languages.