author
1822–1888
A 19th-century French essayist and critic, he wrote with a strong polemical streak and a taste for anecdote. His books range from literary attacks and historical studies to a lively, wide-ranging history of dining and food culture.
by Louis Nicolardot
Born in Dijon on November 28, 1822, Louis Nicolardot was a French essayist, critic, and journalist who later died in Levallois-Perret on November 21, 1888. Sources on his career describe him as a prolific man of letters with a conservative outlook in literature, politics, and religion.
He contributed to several French periodicals, including Le Nain jaune, Paris-Journal, and Revue du monde catholique. Bibliographic records also show a broad body of work that included Études sur les grands hommes, Les Antivoltairiens, Journal de Louis XVI, Confession de Sainte-Beuve, and La Fontaine et la comédie humaine.
Today he is often remembered by readers of culinary history for Histoire de la table: curiosités gastronomiques de tous les temps et de tous les pays (1868), an expansive book that reflects his fondness for historical curiosities and learned storytelling. I couldn’t confirm a reliable portrait image from the available source pages, so none is included here.