Paul Hervieu (2 September 185725 October 1915) 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 asp ...

and playwright.

Early years

He was born Paul-Ernest Hervieu in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Hervieu was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family. He studied law, but sought also had contact with writers like Leconte de Lisle,

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

and

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ...

. After graduating in 1877, he first practiced in a law firm, in 1879 qualified for the diplomatic service, and was posted in the French Embassy in Mexico. But he preferred to remain in France, where he attended fashionable literary salons, and the acquaintance of artists and writers such as Marcel Proust,

Paul Bourget Paul Charles Joseph Bourget (; 2 September 185225 December 1935) was a French poet, novelist and critic. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Life Paul Bourget was born in Amiens in the Somme ''département'' of Picar ...

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet' ...

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's '' Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach. Biography Ludovic Halévy was born in ...

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

and Edgar Degas. On the recommendation of his friend Octave Mirbeau, he tried his hand as a journalist.

Career

Hervieu was called to the bar in 1877, and, after serving some time in the office of the president of the council, he qualified for the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

, but resigned on his nomination in 1881 to a secretaryship in the French legation in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. This in turn cites or notes: *

Alfred Binet Alfred Binet (; 8 July 1857 – 18 October 1911), born Alfredo Binetti, was a French psychologist who invented the first practical IQ test, the Binet–Simon test. In 1904, the French Ministry of Education asked psychologist Alfred Binet to ...

, in '' L'Année psychologique'', vol. x. *Hervieu's ''Théâtre'' was published by Lemerre (3 vols, 1900–1904). He contributed novels, tales and essays to the chief

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

ian papers and reviews, and published a series of clever novels, including ''

L'Inconnue "L'Inconnue" is a short story by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885. Synopsis On the Concorde bridge, baron Roger des Annettes meets a stranger who has "an effect... an astonishing effect" on him. Publication ''L'Inconnue'' was ...

'' (1887), ''

Flirt Flirting or coquetry is a social and sexual behavior involving spoken or written communication, as well as body language. It is either to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with the other person or, if done playfully, for amusement. I ...

'' (1890), '' L'Exorcisée'' (1891), '' Peints par eux-mêmes'' (1893), an ironic study written in the form of letters, and '' L'Armature'' (1895), dramatized in 1905 by

Eugène Brieux Eugène Brieux (; 19 January 18586 December 1932), French dramatist, was born in Paris of poor parents. Biography Works A one-act play, ''Bernard Palissy'', written in collaboration with M. Gaston Salandri, was produced in 1879, but he h ...

. Hervieu's plays are built upon a severely logical method, the mechanism of which is sometimes so evident as to destroy the necessary sense of illusion. The closing words of ''

La Course du flambeau LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' (1901) "Pour ma fille, j'ai tué ma mère" (For my daughter, I killed my mother), are an example of his selection of a plot representing an extreme theory. The riddle in '' L'Énigme'' (1901) (staged at

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 1 March 1902, as ''Caesar's Wife'') is, however, worked out with great art, and '' Le Dédale'' (1903), dealing with the obstacles to the remarriage of a divorced woman, is reckoned among the masterpieces of the modern French stage. He produced his last play, ''Le Destin est Maître'', in 1914.

Honours

He was elected to the Académie française in 1900.

Death

Hervieu died at age 57 in

, France, and was interred in its

Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), ...

Bibliography

*'' Les Paroles restent'' (Vaudeville, 17 November 1892) *'' Les Tenailes'' ( Théâtre Français, 28 September 1895) *'' La loi de l’homme'' ( Théâtre Français, 15 February 1897) *''

'' (Vaudeville, 17 April 1901) *'' Point de lendemain'' ( Théâtre de l'Odéon, 18 October 1901), a dramatic version of a story by

Vivant Denon Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. Denon was a diplomat for France under Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louvre ...

*'' L'Énigme'' ( Théâtre Français, 5 November 1901) *''

Théroigne de Méricourt Anne-Josèphe Théroigne de Méricourt (born ''Anne-Josèphe Terwagne''; 13 August 1762 – 8 June 1817) was a Belgian singer, orator and organizer in the French Revolution. She was born at Marcourt, in Prince-Bishopric of Liège (from which com ...

'' ( Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, 23 September 1902) *'' Le Dédale'' ( Théâtre Français, 19 December 1903) *''Le Réveil'' ( Théâtre Français, 18 December 1905)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hervieu, Paul 1857 births 1915 deaths People from Neuilly-sur-Seine 19th-century French novelists Writers from Île-de-France 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights Members of the Académie Française Burials at Passy Cemetery French male novelists 19th-century French male writers 20th-century French male writers