Erckmann-Chatrian

Erckmann-Chatrian was the shared pen name of Émile Erckmann (1822–1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (1826–1890), two French writers from the Lorraine region who worked so closely that they were often treated almost as a single author. They met in the 1840s and went on to produce most of their work together.

They became known as early regionalist novelists, drawing strongly on the people, speech, and landscapes of Alsace-Lorraine and the Vosges. Their fiction often mixed everyday rural life with larger historical events, and they also wrote military tales and supernatural stories. Among their best-known works are L'Ami Fritz and Le Juif polonais.

Their partnership was highly successful in the second half of the 19th century, though it eventually ended after a quarrel late in life. Even so, the name Erckmann-Chatrian endured, and their books remain a notable example of collaborative authorship in French literature.