author
Alfred Franklin
1830–1917
A lively guide to old Paris as much as a historian, this French writer spent decades turning archives into vivid stories about everyday life, books, and the city’s forgotten corners. His work still appeals to readers who enjoy history told through curious details and human scenes.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born Alfred Louis Auguste Poux in Versailles on December 16, 1830, and better known by the pen name Alfred Franklin, he became a French librarian, historian, and writer. He is especially remembered for books that explored the history of Paris, daily life in earlier centuries, and the world of libraries and books.
Franklin worked closely with major libraries, including the Bibliothèque Mazarine and the Bibliothèque nationale, and built a reputation for making archival research readable and engaging. Rather than focusing only on kings and battles, he often wrote about customs, trades, homes, manners, and the texture of ordinary life, which gives his work a warm, richly detailed feel.
He died in Viroflay on July 10, 1917. For audiobook listeners, Franklin offers a window into French cultural history through writing that is curious, wide-ranging, and full of the small facts that make the past feel real.