Les Romanciers d'Aujourd'hui

The work opens with a lively conversation about the chaotic reception of a recent novel, setting the tone for a wide‑ranging survey of the writers shaping today’s French prose. Its author, alongside Jules Tellier, has organized contemporary novelists into families—rustics, mondains, philosophers, naturalists, impressionists and symbolists—using these labels as flexible guides rather than rigid doctrines. By weaving brief biographical sketches, critical observations and bibliographic notes, the book offers a quick‑reference map for anyone wishing to trace the currents that run through late‑nineteenth‑century fiction.

In the first chapter the focus narrows to the naturalists, listing names from Zola to Mirbeau and outlining how realism evolved into naturalism, impressionism and, more recently, symbolism. The discussion balances scholarly insight with an accessible, almost conversational style, making it a useful companion for readers eager to place their favorite novels within the broader literary landscape without getting lost in exhaustive theory.