author
Eugène Demolder
1862–1919
A Belgian writer, critic, and trained lawyer, he moved through the lively literary world of fin-de-siècle Belgium with a sharp eye for both art and society. He is especially remembered for "Le jardinier de la Pompadour," along with memoirs and travel writing that captured the culture of his time.
1 Audiobook
Le jardinier de la Pompadour
by Eugène Demolder
About the author
Born in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean on December 16, 1862, Eugène Demolder was a French-language Belgian writer who worked as a novelist, short-story writer, and art critic. He trained in law, but his reputation grew in literature, where he became associated with the Jeune Belgique movement that helped renew Belgian writing in the late 19th century.
Demolder wrote across several forms, and that range is part of what makes him interesting. His memoir Sous la robe draws on the legal world he knew, while Le jardinier de la Pompadour became one of his best-known books for readers outside Belgium. He also wrote L’Espagne en auto, an early automobile travel narrative that shows his curiosity about modern life and movement.
He died in Essonnes, France, on October 8, 1919. Today he is remembered as a versatile man of letters whose work joined storytelling, cultural observation, and criticism in a way that reflects the rich artistic atmosphere of his era.