author
Jacques Fernay
b. 1849
Writing under a memorable pen name, this French author explored history, travel, and family life in accessible books for young and general readers. The work earned a Prix Montyon and ranged from George Washington and Pierre-Paul Riquet to scenes of the Basque Country.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1849, Jacques Fernay was the pseudonym of the French author Isabelle Farine Ravel. The Académie française records that she received the 1896 Prix Montyon for Grand’mère et bonne-maman, a work centered on family life and generations.
Fernay published a varied group of books in the late nineteenth century, including Georges Washington, fondateur de la république des États-Unis (1886), La Brioulette: scènes du Pays Basque (1892), and Le Moujik, mœurs populaires russes (1892). She also wrote about the seventeenth-century engineer Pierre-Paul Riquet and the Canal du Midi, combining historical subjects with lively storytelling.