Jules Lermina

Born in Paris on March 27, 1839, Jules Lermina became a journalist in 1859 after trying a range of other jobs. He took strong socialist positions under the Second Empire, and those views led to several periods in prison. His political struggles also brought him notable support from Victor Hugo.

Lermina went on to build a remarkably varied writing career as a novelist, journalist, and political activist. He wrote adventure fiction, historical novels, fantastic tales, crime stories, and works that readers now often place alongside early science fiction. He was also a very prolific author, sometimes publishing under the name William Cobb.

Today, he is often remembered both for the sheer range of his work and for the way his life crossed literature, journalism, and radical politics. He died in Paris on June 23, 1915, leaving behind a large body of fiction that still attracts readers interested in overlooked corners of French popular literature.