Pierre-Jakez Hélias was born in 1914 in Pouldreuzig, Penn-ar-Bed, Brittany and died on August 13, 1995. He was a French author, poet, stage actor and radio worker of Breton expression. He also collected folk tales from his native land and wrote both in Breton and French. His best-selling novel is Le Cheval d'orgueil (Horse of Pride, 1975), which Claude Chabrol adapted for cinema in 1980.