author
Alexandre Bisson
1848–1912
A master of French stage comedy, he wrote popular vaudevilles and dramas that traveled far beyond Paris. He is especially remembered for Madame X, a hit that went on to inspire many later adaptations.
1 Audiobook
Madame X: a story of mother-love
by J. W. McConaughy, Alexandre Bisson
About the author
Born in Briouze, in Normandy, in 1848, Alexandre Bisson became a French playwright, novelist, librettist, and screenwriter whose work found wide success in France and abroad. He began his career after a short time in public instruction and went on to build a strong reputation in the lively world of Parisian theater.
Bisson was especially known for vaudeville and stage comedy, often mixing sharp plotting with broad entertainment. He also wrote more serious drama, and his best-known work, Madame X, proved enduring enough to reach audiences well beyond France and to inspire many adaptations for the stage and screen.
He died in Paris in 1912, but his career still offers a clear window into the popular theater of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: fast-moving, theatrical, and designed to keep audiences fully engaged.