Jules de Goncourt

Born in Paris on December 17, 1830, Jules de Goncourt was a French writer who worked in an unusually close partnership with his older brother, Edmond de Goncourt. The two published their books together and became known for fiction, art criticism, and historical writing, especially work centered on French society and culture.

They are often remembered for their detailed Journal, a vivid record of literary and artistic life in 19th-century France, as well as for novels that helped point toward naturalism. Britannica notes their importance to the development of the naturalist novel and to social history and art criticism, while also emphasizing how revealing their journal remains.

Jules died on June 20, 1870, at Auteuil, near Paris, still in his thirties. Even though his life was short, the body of work he created with Edmond left a lasting mark on French literary history, and his name is still closely tied to one of the most observant brotherly collaborations in literature.