Paul Féval, père facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Henri Corentin Féval
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1862 lithographic caricature of Paul Féval by Étienne Carjat
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| Born | 29 September 1816 Rennes, France1 |
| Died | 8 March 1887 (aged 70) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Novelist, Dramatist |
| Genre | Historical fiction, Crime fiction, Fantastic fiction |
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Paul Henri Corentin Féval (born September 29, 1816 – died March 8, 1887) was a French writer. He wrote many popular novels and plays.
He was famous for his exciting adventure stories, often called swashbuckler novels. Some of his well-known books include Le Loup blanc (1843) and Le Bossu (1857). He also wrote early vampire fiction novels like La Vampire (1865). Féval also wrote about his home region, Brittany, and the famous Mont Saint-Michel. One example is La Fée des Grèves (1850).
Paul Féval is also known as one of the creators of modern crime fiction. His novel Jean Diable (1862) is thought to be one of the first modern detective stories. His biggest work was Les Habits Noirs (1863–1875). This was a long series of eleven novels about criminals.
Later in his life, Féval faced financial problems. He then became very religious and stopped writing crime stories. Instead, he started writing novels with religious themes. He never finished the Habits Noirs series.
Contents
Life of Paul Féval
Paul Henri Corentin Féval was born in Rennes, France, on September 29, 1816. This city is in the region of Brittany. Many of his novels tell stories about the history of Brittany. He studied to become a lawyer and became one in 1836.
However, he soon moved to Paris. There, he started his writing career. His first successful novel was Le Club des phoques (1841). After that, he wrote more adventure stories. These included Rollan Pied de Fer (1842) and Le Loup Blanc (1843). Le Loup Blanc featured a hero who fought for justice while disguised. This was one of the first times a crimefighter with a secret identity appeared in a story.
Becoming a Popular Writer
Féval became very famous with Les Mystères de Londres (1844). This long story was published in parts, like a TV series. It was written to be as popular as Les Mystères de Paris by Eugène Sue. In Féval's story, an Irish character tries to get revenge on England. The plot was similar to Alexandre Dumas, père's The Count of Monte Cristo, which came out a year later. The novel also featured a secret group of criminals. This idea of secret societies became common in Féval's books. He used the pen name Sir Francis Trollop for this series.
With Les Mystères de Londres, Féval became as popular as famous writers like Dumas. But he wanted to be known for more serious books. He tried writing social stories, but they were not as popular. So, he returned to writing adventure novels. These included La Louve (1855), a sequel to Le Loup Blanc.
His Most Famous Works
His biggest success was Le Bossu (1857). In this story, a skilled swordsman named Henri de Lagardère pretends to be a hunchback. He does this to get revenge for his friend, who was murdered. The book has a famous saying: "If you don't come to Lagardère, Lagardère will come to you." Le Bossu has been made into several movies. Féval's son later wrote more stories about the characters.
In 1857, Féval wrote Les Compagnons du Silence. This book returned to the theme of secret criminal groups. Then came Jean Diable (1862), which is considered one of the first modern crime thrillers. In this story, a police chief from Scotland Yard tries to catch a very clever crime leader.
In 1862, Féval started a magazine named Jean Diable. One of its editors was Émile Gaboriau. Gaboriau later created the detective character Monsieur Lecoq. Gaboriau's Lecoq later inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes.
The Habits Noirs Series
In 1863, Féval began his most important work, Les Habits Noirs. This was a huge series of seven novels about criminals. He connected his earlier books, like Les Mystères de Londres and Jean Diable, into this series. This created a complex world of evil and secret plots. Les Habits Noirs is seen as an early example of today's conspiracy and organized crime novels. The heroes in these books, like Gregory Temple, are considered some of the first modern detective characters.
From 1865 to 1868, Féval was the President of the Société des Gens de Lettre. This was a society for authors. He held this position again from 1874 to 1876.
Vampire Stories
In 1865, Féval also wrote La Vampire. This was an important book about vampires. It featured a powerful female vampire. Some experts believe parts of this story were written even earlier, long before Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Féval wrote another vampire story called La Ville Vampire (1867). This book is seen as an early version of stories like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In it, the writer Ann Radcliffe is the main character. She and her friends go on an adventure to find a legendary vampire city. They want to save their friends from a vampire lord.
Later Life and Challenges
In 1873 and 1875, Féval tried to join the Académie française. This is a very respected French group for writers. But he was not accepted. This was partly because his books were very popular, not seen as "serious" literature.
In 1875, Féval lost almost all his money. This happened because of a financial problem. After this, he became a very religious Christian. He decided to stop writing crime novels because he thought they were wrong. He even tried to change his old books to fit his new beliefs. He started writing religious novels instead.
In 1882, Paul Féval lost his money again. He also became ill and could no longer write. In 1884, his wife passed away. He moved to a special home for care. He died there on March 8, 1887.
His son, Paul Féval, also became a successful writer.
Images for kids
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1862 lithographic caricature of Paul Féval by Étienne Carjat
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Paul Féval's signature
See also
In Spanish: Paul Féval padre para niños
