About
Nicolas Edme Restif de La Bretonne, born in 1734 in Sacy and died in 1806 in Paris, was an extremely prolific French writer, author of about 200 to 250 volumes. Son of a peasant, he was apprenticed as a printer and often printed his own works. Nicknamed 'the Rousseau of the gutter', he depicted the lower classes with realism. He is known for his novels, autobiographical writings, and erotic texts, leaving a significant body of work including Le Paysan perverti and Les Nuits de Paris.
* 1734-10-23 — † 1806-02-03
Major works
- Le Pornographe (1769)essay
- Le Pied de Fanchette (1769)novel
- Le Paysan perverti (1775)novel
- Les Contemporaines (1780)short story collection
- Les Nuits de Paris (1786)chronicle
Key milestones
- 1769Publishes Le Pornographe, an essay where he coins the term 'pornographer'.
- 1794Begins publication of Monsieur Nicolas, his monumental autobiography.
- 1806Appointed to a post at the Ministry of Police by Napoleon, but dies before taking office.
Themes
social realismautobiographyeroticismpeasant lifecritique of morals
Sources: britannica.com · larousse.fr · oxfordreference.com