Edmond François Valentin About
A witty and skeptical French novelist and journalist whose satirical pen dissected the society and politics of 19th-century France.
1828–1885 (age 57)·French writer·Birthday: February 14
Biography
Edmond About was a literary gadfly in the vibrant, contentious world of Second Empire France. A sharp-witted graduate of the École Normale Supérieure, he used fiction and journalism as a scalpel. His novels, like 'The King of the Mountains' and 'The Man with the Broken Ear', blended adventure with social satire, poking fun at bourgeois conventions and political pretensions. As a journalist, he was a staunch anti-clericalist and a voice for liberal republicanism, writing for influential papers like Le Figaro and founding his own, Le XIXe Siècle. About's skepticism and clear, ironic style made him a popular and sometimes controversial figure. While not a radical revolutionary, his work consistently championed secularism and reason, leaving a mark as a clever commentator who helped shape the intellectual tone of his era.
#1 When Edmond Was Born
The biggest hits of 1828
Edmond's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1828Born
1833Started school
1841Became a teenager
1844Could drive
1846Could vote
1849Turned 21
1858Turned 30
1868Turned 40
President: Andrew Johnson
1878Turned 50
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1885Died at 57
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
Key Achievements
- Elected to the Académie française in 1884, the preeminent council for matters pertaining to the French language.
- Wrote the popular satirical adventure novel 'Le Roi des montagnes' (The King of the Mountains).
- Founded the newspaper 'Le XIXe Siècle' (The Nineteenth Century), a platform for his liberal political views.
- Was a prominent member of the anti-clerical intellectual movement in late 19th-century France.
Did You Know?
He studied at the French Academy in Rome after winning the prestigious Prix de Rome for his writing.
He was a close friend of Gustave Flaubert and moved in the same literary circles.
His election to the Académie française was highly contested due to his anti-clerical writings.
The asteroid 6832 is named 'Calaebula' in his honor, derived from his name.
“A man who is not a liberal at sixteen has no heart; a man who is not a conservative at sixty has no head.”
