author
Henri Rochefort
1831–1913
A brilliant and combative French journalist, polemicist, and politician, he became famous for sharp attacks on Napoleon III and for a public career full of newspapers, trials, prison, and exile. His life moved through some of the most turbulent politics of 19th-century France, from the Second Empire to the Paris Commune and the Third Republic.
1 Audiobook
La Mal'aria: Etude Sociale
by Henri Rochefort
About the author
Born in Paris on January 30, 1831, Henri Rochefort — formally Victor Henri Rochefort, Marquis de Rochefort-Luçay — first tried several paths, including medical study, clerical work, playwriting, and journalism. He gained early attention writing for Le Figaro, then became widely known for his fierce satirical style and his gift for turning political anger into popular journalism.
His fame soared when he founded La Lanterne in 1868, a paper whose attacks on Napoleon III brought prosecution and helped make him a hero to many opponents of the imperial regime. Rochefort was elected to public office, became involved in the upheavals around the Paris Commune, and after imprisonment was deported to New Caledonia before making a dramatic escape.
In later years he continued as a powerful and controversial newspaper voice, especially through L'Intransigeant. Although he began on the far left and later backed very different causes, his reputation rested on the same qualities throughout: wit, aggression, theatrical flair, and a talent for stirring public opinion. He died at Aix-les-Bains on June 30, 1913.