author
Maurice Maindron
1857–1911
A French writer, entomologist, and traveler, he brought a naturalist’s eye and a taste for adventure to both science and fiction. His life moved between museum work, expeditions across Africa and Asia, and novels shaped by history and observation.
1 Audiobook
La gardienne de l'idole noire
by Maurice Maindron
About the author
Born in Paris on February 7, 1857, Maurice Maindron grew up with an early passion for natural history, especially insects. He worked with the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, where he helped study and organize insect collections, and he became known as an entomologist as well as a man of letters.
He also traveled widely. Over the course of his career he joined expeditions to places including New Guinea, Senegal, India, Indonesia, and the Horn of Africa. These journeys fed both his scientific work and his writing, giving his books a strong sense of place, detail, and lived experience.
Alongside his research, Maindron wrote novels and historical works, making him one of those rare authors equally at home in the worlds of science and storytelling. He died in Paris on July 19, 1911, leaving behind a body of work that reflects curiosity, discipline, and a real appetite for discovery.