author
Arsène Houssaye
1815–1896
A lively figure in 19th-century French literary life, this novelist, poet, and critic moved easily between books, journalism, and the Paris art world. He is also remembered for championing writers and artists of his time while producing an enormous body of his own work.
5 Audiobooks
Les douze nouvelles nouvelles
by Arsène Houssaye
Les grandes dames
by Arsène Houssaye
Le roi Voltaire
by Arsène Houssaye
Les Dieux et les Demi-Dieux de la Peinture
by Théophile Gautier, Arsène Houssaye, Paul de Saint-Victor
Les mains pleines de roses, pleines d'or et pleines de sang
by Arsène Houssaye
About the author
Born François Arsène Housset in 1815, he came from the Aisne region of France and went to Paris as a young man to make his name in literature. Early on he published novels and poetry, and he soon became known as a man of letters with a strong presence in the city’s cultural circles.
His career stretched well beyond writing books. He edited the influential review L’Artiste and later directed the Comédie-Française, placing him close to the center of French artistic life. In those roles he became associated with major figures of the period, including Théophile Gautier and Gérard de Nerval, and he helped encourage younger writers and artists.
Houssaye wrote abundantly across fiction, criticism, memoir, and literary history, with a style often described as graceful and conversational. Although he is less widely read today than some of his contemporaries, he remains an interesting guide to the literary and theatrical world of 19th-century Paris.