Malevil

'Malevil' follows a group of survivors who take shelter inside a large medieval castle named Malevil in rural France when a devastating nuclear holocaust destroys civilization. Published in 1972, the novel explores how these survivors rebuild a community, manage scarce resources, and defend themselves against hostile factions in the irradiated, post-apocalyptic landscape of rural France.

Yes, a French film adaptation of 'Malevil' was directed by Christian de Chalonge and released in 1981, starring Michel Serrault in a leading role. The film, like the novel, depicted the struggle of survivors at the castle of Malevil following a nuclear catastrophe, though it condensed significant portions of Merle's lengthy narrative.

Robert Merle was a French novelist who won the Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary prize, in 1949 for his novel 'Weekend at Zuydcoote.' He is also well known for his multi-volume 'Fortune de France' historical novel series set in 16th and 17th century France, and for 'The Day of the Dolphin,' which was adapted into a 1973 film starring George C. Scott.

'Malevil' shares the nuclear-survival theme with contemporaneous works like Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach' (1957) and Pat Frank's 'Alas, Babylon' (1959), but Merle's novel places greater emphasis on the social and political reconstruction of community. The medieval castle setting allows Merle to explore a regression to feudal power structures, making it as much a political novel as a science fiction one.