Vailland was born in Acy-en-Multien, Oise. His novels include Drôle de jeu (1945), Les mauvais coups (1948), Un jeune homme seul (1951), 325 000 francs (1955), and La loi (1957), winner of the Prix Goncourt. His screenplays include Les liaisons dangereuses (with Claude Brûlé and Roger Vadim, 1959) and Le vice et la vertu (with Vadim, 1962).