Paul Auguste Marie Adam (7 December 1862 – 1 January 1920) was a French

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

who became an early proponent of

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

in France, and one of the founders of the Symbolist review '' Le Symboliste''.

Career

Adam's first novel, ''Chair molle'' ("Soft Flesh"), was the story of a prostitute in the Naturalist manner, which led to him being prosecuted for immorality before the Cour d'assises and sentenced to a fortnight in prison and a 500-franc fine. Together with

Jean Moréas Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910), was a Greek poet, essayist, and art critic, who wrote mostly in the French language but also in Greek ...

, he co-wrote ''Les Demoiselles Goubert'', a novel that marked the transition between Naturalism and Symbolism in French literature. His ''Lettres de Malaisie'' (1897) was speculative fiction about politics in the future. He also wrote a series of

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

that dealt with the period of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and their aftermath; the first installment in the series, ''La Force'', was published in 1899. It was followed by ''L'enfant d'Austerlitz'' (1901), ''La ruse'' (1902) and ''Au soleil de Juillet'' (1903). His novel ''Stephanie'', which appeared in 1913, argued in favour of

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

s as opposed to those founded on

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

attachments. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. He was born and died in Paris.

Works

* ''Chair molle'' (1885) * ''Soi'' (1886) * ''Les Demoiselles Goubert'' (with Jean Moréas, 1886) * ''Le Thé chez Miranda'' (with Jean Moréas, 1886) * ''La glèbe'' (1887) * ''Les Volontés merveilleuses: Être'' (1888) * ''Les Volontés merveilleuses: L'essence de soleil'' (1890) * ''Les Volontés merveilleuses: en décor'' (1890) * ''L'Époque: Le Vice filial'' (1891) * ''L'Époque: Robes rouges'' (1891) * ''L'Époque: Les Cœurs utiles'' (1892) * ''L'Automne'' (1893, a censored play) * ''Le Conte futur'' (1893) * ''Critique des mœurs'' (1893) * ''Les Images sentimentales'' (1893) * ''Princesses byzantines'' (1893) * ''La Parade amoureuse'' (1894) * ''Le Mystère des foules'' (1895) * ''Les Cœurs nouveaux'' (1896) * ''La Force du mal'' (1896) * ''L'Année de Clarisse'' (1897, illustrated by

Gaston Darbour Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston I ...

) * ''La bataille d'Uhde'' (1897) * ''Le Vice filial'' (1898, illustrated by Jan Dědina) * ''Le Temps et la Vie'': # ''La Force'' (1899) # ''L'Enfant d'Austerlitz'' (1901) # ''La Ruse, 1827-1828'' (1903) # ''Au soleil de juillet, 1829-1830'' (1903) * ''Basile et Sophia'' (1901) * ''Lettres de Malaisie'' (1898) * ''Le Troupeau de Clarisse'' (1904) * ''Le Serpent noir'' (1905) * ''Vues d'Amérique'' (1906) * ''Clarisse et l'homme heureux'' (1907) * ''La Morale des Sports'' (1907) * ''La cité prochaine'' (1908) * ''Les Impérialismes et la morale des peuples'' (1908) * ''Le Malaise du monde latin'' (1910) * ''Le Trust'' (1910) * ''Contre l’Aigle'' (1910) * ''Stéphanie'' (1913) * ''Le Lion d'Arras'' (1919) * ''Notre Carthage'' (1922) * ''Dieu'' (1924, published posthumously in La Phalange)

References

External links

* * *
Works by Paul Adam
at Hathi Trust
''Signac, 1863-1935''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Paul Adam (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Paul 1862 births 1920 deaths Writers from Paris 19th-century French novelists French historical novelists French erotica writers 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers French art critics French male novelists 19th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers Olympic competitors in art competitions