Charles Félix Henri Rabou (6 September 1803 – 1 February 1871) was a 19th-century French writer, novelist and journalist.

Biography

The son of a military sub-intendant, he studied at the collège Henri IV before attending law classes at the Faculty of Dijon. Back in Paris with his degree in law, he turned away from the bar in favor of literature. First a journalist for ''

La Quotidienne ''La Quotidienne'' was a French Royalist newspaper. History It was set up in 1790 by M. de Coutouly. It ceased publication in the face of events in 1792, before returning to print in July 1794 under the title ''Le Tableau de Paris'', returning to ...

'', ''

Le Messager des Chambres ''Le Messager des Chambres'' was a French newspaper whose founder was the vicount de Martignac, ultra-royalist who fought against the laws of censorship in France under the July Monarchy. Among the editors were Charles Rabou (1803–1871), the ...

'', '' Le Nouvelliste'', le ''

Journal de Paris The ''Journal de Paris'' (1777–1840) was the first daily French newspaper.(7 October 2014)The first French daily: Journal de Paris History of JournalismAndrews, ElizabethBetween Auteurs and Abonnés: Reading the Journal de Paris, 1787–1789 '' ...

'', '' La Charte de 1830'', he held political and literary chronicles, then in 1832 launched ''La Cour d'Assise'', to be published until 1834.

Publication de Balzac

Director of the prestigious ''

Revue de Paris ''Revue de Paris'' was a French literary magazine founded in 1829 by Louis-Désiré Véron. After two years Veron left the magazine to head the Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded ...

'' which he helped establish, he befriended

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

whose novels he published in the pages of his paper. Mutual trust was such that Balzac entrusted him with the task to complete some unfinished novels after his death: ' (

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The ...

), ' (

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River open ...

), ' (1855), '' '' (

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

), a task Rabou performed honestly but that was coldly greeted by the critics. He was falsely accused of being Balzac's

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...

. Charles Rabou continued to produce great works of literature that deserve to be rediscovered.

Works

Source:

Collections

*1832: ' (with

and Philarète Chasles): ** ''Sara la danseuse'' ** ''Tobias Guarnerius'' ** ''Les Regrets'' ** ''Le Ministère public''

Novels

*1831: ''Le Mannequin'' (1831) *1839: ''Les Tribulations et métamorphoses posthumes de maître Fabricius, peintre liégeois'' (reprinted in 1860) *1840: ''Louison d'Arquien'' *1842: ''Le Capitaine Lambert'' *1845: ''La Reine d'un jour'' *1846: ''Madame de Chaumergis''digest online
/ref> *1845: ''L'Allée des veuves'' *1849: ''Le Cabinet noir. Les Frères de la mort'' *1857: ''La Fille sanglante'' *1858: ''Le Marquis de Vulpiano'' *1860: ''Les Grands danseurs du Roi''

Continuation of Balzac

*1854: ''Scènes de la vie politique. Le Député d'Arcis'' *1854: ''Le Comte de Sallenauve'' *1855: ''La Famille Beauvisage'' *1855: ''Les Petits bourgeois, scènes de la vie parisienne''

Historical essay

*1860: ''La Grande Armée''

Bibliography

Charles Rabou on wikisource
* Jacques Goimard et Roland Stragliati (éds.), ''Histoires de fantômes'', éd. Presses Pocket, 1977 * Jacques Goimard et Roland Stragliati (éds.), ''La Grande Anthologie du fantastique'', t.2, éd. Omnibus, 1996 * Florian Balduc (éd.),''Fantaisies Hoffmaniennes''
Editions Otrante
2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabou, Charles 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French journalists French male journalists Writers from Paris 1803 births 1871 deaths 19th-century French male writers