About
Paul Féval, born in Rennes in 1816, was a prolific French writer, author of over two hundred volumes, mainly serial novels. Trained as a lawyer, he abandoned the bar for literature. He achieved success with Les Mystères de Londres (1844) and became famous with Le Bossu (1857). Considered a precursor of the modern detective novel with Jean Diable (1862) and the Les Habits Noirs saga, he also explored the fantastic. After a religious conversion, he turned to edifying novels. He presided over the Société des gens de lettres and died in Paris in 1887.
* 1816-09-28 — † 1887-03-07
Major works
- Les Mystères de Londres (1844)novel
- Le Bossu (1857)novel
- Jean Diable (1862)novel
- La Vampire (1865)novel
- Les Habits Noirs (1863)novel series
Key milestones
- 1836Admitted to the bar, but gave up law after his first case.
- 1865Elected president of the Société des gens de lettres for the first time.
- 1870Religious conversion after losing his fortune in a financial scandal.
Themes
adventurecrimefantasticrevengeredemption
Sources: catalogue.bnf.fr · en.m.wikisource.org · commons.wikimedia.org