Jean de La Brète

Writing under the name Jean de La Brète, Alice Cherbonnel was a French novelist born in Saumur on December 13, 1858, and she died in Cizay-la-Madeleine on August 23, 1945. She became known for fiction aimed largely at young women and readers looking for lively, morally grounded storytelling.

Her breakthrough came with Mon oncle et mon curé in 1889, a novel that enjoyed lasting success and remained her most famous work. Its popularity led to many later editions, and it was adapted for both stage and screen, helping keep her name in circulation long after its first publication.

She went on to publish many more novels, building a reputation for accessible, engaging stories shaped by French social life and Catholic values. Even today, she is remembered chiefly through the enduring appeal of Mon oncle et mon curé and the distinctive pseudonym under which she wrote.