Jules de Goncourt

Born in Paris on December 17, 1830, Jules de Goncourt wrote in close partnership with his older brother Edmond de Goncourt. Together they produced novels, art criticism, history, and the famous journal that became one of the great records of French literary life in their century.

The brothers are often described as important early figures in naturalism. Their writing paid close attention to social detail, style, and the textures of everyday life, and their collaborative work influenced later French fiction as well as literary journalism.

Jules died in Paris on June 20, 1870, at only thirty-nine. His name lives on through the Goncourt legacy: Edmond later helped establish the institution behind the Prix Goncourt, one of France’s best-known literary prizes, in memory of the two brothers’ shared devotion to literature.