- Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail
Pierre Alexis, Viscount of Ponson du Terrail (
8 July 1829 -20 January 1871 ) was a Frenchwriter . He was a prolific novelist, producing in the space of twenty years some seventy-three volumes, and is best remembered today for his creation of thefictional character of Rocambole.Biography
He was born in
Montmaur (Hautes Alpes ).Ponson du Terrail’s early works squarely belonged to the
Gothic novel genre: his "La Baronne Trépassée" (1852) was a murkyAnn Radcliffe -like tale of revenge in the macabre surroundings of 1700sGermany Black Forest .When Ponson du Terrail embarked in 1857 on writing the first novel of the Rocambole series, "L’Héritage Mystérieux" (also known as "Les Drames de Paris") for the daily
newspaper "La Patrie", he merely meant to copy the success ofEugène Sue ’s best-selling "Les Mystères de Paris". Rocambole’s importance toMystery fiction andAdventure novel s cannot be underestimated, as it represents the transition from the old-fashioned Gothic novel to modern heroic fiction. The word "rocambolesque" has become common in French to label any kind of fantastic adventures, especially those with multiple new turns in the story.Rocambole became a huge success, providing a constant and considerable source of revenue to Ponson du Terrail, who continued churning out his adventures. In total, he produced nine Rocambole novels. His other notable novels include "Les Coulisses du monde" (1853) and "Le Forgeron de la Cour-Dieu" (1869).
In August 1870, as Ponson du Terrail had embarked on a new Rocambole saga when Emperor
Napoléon III surrendered to Germany. Ponson fled fromParis to his country estate nearOrléans , where he gathered a group of like-minded companions and began a guerilla-style warfare, not unlike what Rocambole himself would have done. However, Ponson was soon forced to flee toBordeaux after the Germans burned down his castle.He died in
Bordeaux in 1871, leaving the saga of Rocambole uncompleted and was buried in theCimetière de Montmartre in theMontmartre Quarter of Paris.Quotes
Ponson du Terrail wrote in a hurry and rarely checked what he had written, rushing to meet deadlines. He is well-known for some eccentric sentences :
* "Her hands were as cold as those of a snake" (fr :"Elle avait les mains aussi froides que celles d'un serpent")
* "With one hand, he raised the dagger, and with the other he said.." ("D'une main il leva son poignard, et de l'autre il lui dit...")References
*1911
External links
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