Charles Bernède

Arthur Bernède was a French writer, poet, playwright, and opera librettist born in Redon, Brittany, in 1871. He wrote across several forms, but he is especially remembered for popular fiction that brought mystery and adventure to a wide audience.

He became closely linked with early 20th-century serialized storytelling. In 1919, he worked with actor René Navarre and novelist Gaston Leroux in the launch of a publishing venture focused on popular fiction, and his name is often connected with enduring characters and titles such as Judex and Belphégor.

Bernède died in Paris in 1937. Today, he is remembered as one of the energetic storytellers of French popular literature, a writer whose work moved easily between novels, the stage, and the emerging world of film.