About
Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly (1808-1889) was a major French writer of late Romanticism. Born in Normandy, he led a liberal and atheist youth before converting to Catholicism in 1846. As an influential critic, he championed Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, and Baudelaire. His work, often set among the Norman aristocracy, explores morbid passions and evil. His short story collection Les Diaboliques (1874) caused a public scandal. Nicknamed the 'Constable of Letters', he left a deep mark on French literature and influenced authors such as Baudelaire, Huysmans, and Proust.
* 1808-11-02 — † 1889-04-23
Major works
- Une Vieille Maîtresse (1851)novel
- L'Ensorcelée (1854)novel
- Le Chevalier des Touches (1863)novel
- Les Diaboliques (1874)short story collection
- Une Histoire sans Nom (1882)novel
Key milestones
- 1846Conversion to Roman Catholicism.
- 1874Publication of Les Diaboliques, which caused a public scandal and was seized by the prosecutor.
- 1869Succeeded Sainte-Beuve as literary critic at Le Constitutionnel.
Themes
evil and sinmorbid passionsNorman aristocracydandyismCatholicism
Sources: britannica.com · oxfordreference.com · id.loc.gov