author
Joseph Lafon-Labatut
1809–1877
Remembered as a blind 19th-century poet from Périgord, he turned hardship into verse and became closely associated with the language and folklore of his region.
1 Audiobook
La femme du diable
by Joseph Lafon-Labatut
About the author
Born in Messina on May 18, 1809, to a father from Périgord who was serving as a soldier, Joseph Lafon-Labatut was orphaned young and later showed an early gift for drawing. He went to Paris to study art, but lost his sight, a change that pushed his life in a new direction.
After that, he supported himself in part by teaching and devoted himself to writing. French library and archival sources identify him as a poet, and later notices about his work describe him as a distinctive voice of Périgord, especially valued for writing tied to local speech, legend, and regional identity.
He died in 1877. His best-known surviving title is La femme du diable, published after his death with a preface by Jules Claretie and a biographical notice by Gabriel Lafon.