author
Pierre Souvestre
1874–1914
Best known as the co-creator of Fantômas, this French writer helped unleash one of crime fiction’s great villains. His short life also ranged through journalism, law, and the fast-moving world of early motoring.
6 Audiobooks
A Royal Prisoner
by Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain
A Nest of Spies
by Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain
Messengers of Evil Being a Further Account of the Lures and Devices of Fantômas
by Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain
The Exploits of Juve Being the Second of the Series of the "Fantômas" Detective Tales
by Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain
The long arm of Fantômas
by Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain
Fantômas
by Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain
About the author
Born in Plomelin, Brittany, on June 1, 1874, Pierre Souvestre trained as a lawyer but built a wide-ranging career as a journalist and writer. He also became involved in the new culture of the automobile, organizing motor races and writing about motoring at a time when the subject still felt modern and adventurous.
Souvestre is remembered above all for creating Fantômas with Marcel Allain in 1911. The mysterious criminal quickly became a sensation, and the series helped define the mood of early 20th-century popular crime fiction with its blend of menace, disguise, and relentless suspense.
He died in Paris on February 26, 1914, at just 39 years old. Even so, his work left a lasting mark: Fantômas endured well beyond his lifetime and remains the achievement most closely linked with his name.