author
Joseph Fiévée
1767–1839
A sharp observer of post-Revolutionary France, this journalist-novelist moved between literature, politics, and power with unusual ease. His life was as eventful as his books, stretching from prison during the Revolution to confidential service under Napoleon.
1 Audiobook
Frédéric
by Joseph Fiévée
About the author
Born in Paris in 1767, Joseph Fiévée became known as a journalist, novelist, essayist, and playwright during one of the most turbulent periods in French history. He first worked in publishing and journalism during the French Revolution, and his political activity led to imprisonment during the Terror.
Fiévée later built a varied career that reached far beyond literature. He served as a civil servant and was also used as a secret agent and political correspondent under Napoleon, giving him a close view of the workings of power. Alongside that public life, he wrote fiction and essays that helped secure his place in French literary history.
He died in Paris in 1839. Fiévée is also remembered for having lived openly with the writer Théodore Leclercq, an unusual and striking fact for the time, which gives his biography an added human interest today.