Alexandre Bisson

Born in Briouze, Normandy, on April 9, 1848, Alexandre Bisson became a French playwright, vaudeville writer, and novelist whose work found audiences both in France and abroad. He is especially remembered as a major figure in Parisian vaudeville, a theater style built on brisk pacing, comedy, and clever stage situations.

Bisson collaborated early on with Edmond Gondinet, and one of their best-known successes, Un Voyage d’agrément, was staged in Paris in 1881 before later reaching New York. Over time he built a reputation for popular, entertaining theater, and his play Madame X proved especially lasting, inspiring many later adaptations.

He died in Paris on January 27, 1912. More than a century later, he remains an appealing figure for readers and listeners interested in the energy of French popular theater and the kind of storytelling that moves easily from stage to page and back again.