FIRST IMPRESSIONS / 'A funny guy with a streak of Algiers thug in him': Jean-Paul Sartre on Albert Camus

Camus was born in Algiers, the son of an itinerant agricultural labourer and a charwoman. Sartre and Camus met in Paris in 1943 at a rehearsal of Sartre's play 'Les Mouches' and shortly after the publication of Camus' first novel, 'L'Etranger', which had been highly acclaimed. Camus became part of the Existentialist group, but in 1952 the publication of his 'L'Homme revolte', which rejected Communism, led to a violent quarrel with Sartre which was never repaired.