author
Joseph Lafon-Labatut
1809–1877
A little-known 19th-century French poet and storyteller, he is remembered especially for La femme du diable and for his deep ties to Périgord. His life moved through hardship, art, and literature, giving his work a distinctly local and personal feel.
1 Audiobook
La femme du diable
by Joseph Lafon-Labatut
About the author
Born in Messina on May 18, 1809, Joseph Lafon-Labatut was the son of a French soldier from Le Bugue in the Dordogne. Biographical notices describe him as orphaned very young and taken in by a country priest, where he first showed a gift for drawing as well as a love of books.
As a young man he worked in lithography, and later became known as a writer associated with Périgord. His posthumously published La femme du diable appeared in 1878 with a preface by Jules Claretie and a biographical notice by Gabriel Lafon, showing that his work had earned real literary attention in his time.
He died in 1877. Though he is not widely known today, Lafon-Labatut still stands out as a regional literary voice whose work preserves the atmosphere, legends, and cultural memory of nineteenth-century southwestern France.