Find out more about the greatest 19th Century French Writers, including Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, Thérèse of Lisieux and Marcel Proust.
Victor Hugo26 February 1802
Author & Poet
Alexandre Dumas24 July 1802
Marquis de Sade02 June 1740
Erotic Novelist
Jules Verne08 February 1828
Writer
Marcel Proust10 July 1871
French novelist
Charles Baudelaire09 April 1821
Poet
Arthur Rimbaud20 October 1854
Poet
Guy de Maupassant05 August 1850
Novelist & Short Story Writer
George Sand01 July 1804
Jean Cocteau05 July 1889
Novelist, Poet, Artist & Filmmaker
Henri Bergson18 October 1859
Philosopher and Writer
Gustave Flaubert12 December 1821
Novelist, Writer
Antonin Artaud04 September 1896
Dramatist, Poet, Essayist, Actor, & Theatre
Hilaire Belloc27 July 1870
Writer
Anatole France16 April 1844
Writer
Alexander Berkman21 November 1870
Editor
Robert W. Service16 January 1874
Poet & Writer
Alphonse Daudet13 May 1840
Novelist, Short story writer, playwright, poet
Stéphane Mallarmé18 March 1842
Poet
Alfred de Musset11 December 1810
Dramatist, Poet, Novelist
Emile Zola02 April 1840
French novelist
Andre Breton19 February 1896
Founder of Surrealism
Oscar Milosz28 May 1877
Poet
Paul Valery30 October 1871
Poet
Andre Gide22 November 1869
Elisee Reclus15 March 1830
Geographer, Anarchist, Writer
Colette28 January 1873
Novelist, Ghostwriter, Journalist, Writer,
W. Somerset Maugham25 January 1874
Playwright, Novelist, Writer, Screenwriter
Georges Bataille10 September 1897
Philosopher, Librarian, Poet, Novelist, Writer,
Paul Verlaine30 March 1844
Poet, Essayist, Writer, Librettist
Vilfredo Pareto15 July 1848
Economist, Writer, Philosopher, Sociologist,
Guillaume Apollinaire25 August 1880
Poet
Mirra Alfassa21 February 1878
Mystic, Writer
Eliphas Levi08 February 1810
Philosopher, Non-fiction writer, Occultist
Arthur de Gobineau14 July 1816
Racial theorist, Philosopher, Writer, Diplomat,
Continue Reading Below
Marc Bloch06 July 1886
Historian, Medievalist, University teacher, Writer
Tristan Tzara16 April 1896
Art collector, Poet, Writer, Diplomat, Film
Gaston Leroux06 May 1868
Journalist, Writer, Novelist, Screenwriter
Georges Sorel02 November 1847
Philosopher, Engineer, Sociologist, Writer, Trade
Romain Rolland29 January 1866
Writer, Playwright, Essayist, Historian, Novelist,
Allan Kardec03 October 1804
Writer, Teacher, Philosopher
Joris-Karl Huysmans05 February 1848
Writer, Art critic, Novelist
Adolphe Thiers15 April 1797
Lawyer, Politician, Journalist, Historian, Writer
Gaston Bachelard27 June 1884
Philosopher, Poet, Writer, University teacher
Jacques Maritain18 November 1882
Philosopher, Educationist, Writer
Jean-Baptiste Say05 January 1767
Economist, Politician, Writer, Professor,
Théophile Gautier31 August 1811
writer, journalist, playwright, literary critic,
Claude Cahun25 October 1894
Artist, Photographer, Writer
Francis Picabia22 January 1879
Painter, Writer, Screenwriter, Poet
Marcel Pagnol28 February 1895
Theatre director, Film director, Writer,
Edmond Rostand01 April 1868
Playwright, Writer, Poet, Essayist, Screenwriter
Maurice Leblanc11 November 1864
Writer, Novelist, Science fiction writer
Alfred Jarry08 September 1873
Playwright, Writer, Poet, Novelist
Paul Langevin23 January 1872
Physicist, Professor, Chemist, Philosopher of
Prosper Mérimée28 September 1803
Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Historian,
Louis Aragon03 October 1897
Writer, Journalist, Politician, Poet, Novelist,
Jules Michelet21 August 1798
Historian, Archivist, Writer, Diarist, Professor,
George du Maurier06 March 1834
Writer, Illustrator
Gabriel Marcel07 December 1889
Playwright, Philosopher, Writer, University
Maurice de Vlaminck04 April 1876
Painter, Writer, Sculptor, Graphic artist
François Mauriac11 October 1885
Writer, Journalist, Poet, Novelist, Playwright,
François Guizot04 October 1787
Politician, Diplomat, Historian, Translator,
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr24 November 1808
Journalist, Writer, Novelist
Paul Claudel06 August 1868
Playwright, Poet, Diplomat, Writer, Diarist, Poet
Comte de Lautréamont04 April 1846
Poet, Writer
Max Jacob12 July 1876
Painter, Poet, Writer, Literary critic
Louis Blanc29 October 1811
Journalist, Politician, Historian, Writer
Pierre Loti14 January 1850
Writer, Q3349700, Novelist, Essayist, Diarist,
Camille Flammarion26 February 1842
astronomer, writer, balloonist, science fiction
Sully Prudhomme16 March 1839
Poet, Writer, Essayist, Diarist
Blaise Cendrars01 September 1887
War correspondent, Journalist, Poet, Writer,
Jean Giono30 March 1895
Writer, Screenwriter, Novelist
René Clair11 November 1898
Screenwriter, Actor, Film director, Film producer,
Maurice Denis25 November 1870
Painter, Illustrator, Lithographer, Writer, Art
Jean-Henri Fabre22 December 1823
Entomologist, Writer, University teacher, Poet
Louis Bachelier11 March 1870
Mathematician, Economist, Non-fiction writer
Sacha Guitry21 February 1885
Screenwriter, Actor, Playwright, Film director,
Henri Michaux24 May 1899
Painter, Poet, Writer
Léon Bloy11 July 1846
Writer, Poet, Essayist, Journalist, Novelist,
Saint-John Perse31 May 1887
Poet, Writer, Diplomat
Jean Giraudoux29 October 1882
Playwright, Screenwriter, Diplomat, Novelist,
Albert Marquet27 March 1875
Painter, Writer
Lucien Febvre22 July 1878
Historian, Professor, Writer
Henri Barbusse17 May 1873
Writer, Journalist, Esperantist, Screenwriter,
Julien Benda26 December 1867
Philosopher, Writer
Benjamin Fondane14 November 1898
Linguist, Poet, Librarian, Film director,
Anna de Noailles15 November 1876
Writer, Salon-holder, Poet, Model
Jules Renard22 February 1864
writer, aphorist, playwright, novelist, diarist
Jean Rostand30 October 1894
Philosopher, Biologist, Writer
Alphonse Allais20 October 1854
Writer, Poet, Journalist, Screenwriter, Painter,
Alexander Dumas24 July 1802
Andre Maurois26 July 1885
Paul Charles Joseph Bourget02 September 1852
Amantine01 July 1804
Émile Bernard28 April 1868
Painter, Poet, Writer
Louis-Ferdinand-Auguste Destouches27 May 1894