Born in 1908, Simone de Beauvoir was a brilliant scholar and novelist, leading member of the existentialist movement and a committed socialist and feminist. Raised in a stiflingly respectable envitonment, as a young woman she totally rejected her parents' values and embarked on her literary career.

Born in 1908, Simone de Beauvoir was a brilliant scholar and novelist, leading member of the existentialist movement and a committed socialist and feminist. Raised in a stiflingly respectable envitonment, as a young woman she totally rejected her parents' values and embarked on her literary career.