Tristan Bernard

Tristan Bernard was the pen name of Paul Bernard, born in Besançon, France, on September 7, 1866, and dead in Paris on December 7, 1947. He was a playwright, novelist, journalist, and lawyer, and Britannica notes that he became especially associated with théâtre de boulevard—smart, entertaining stage work aimed at popular Paris audiences.

His writing was known for light cynicism, lively dialogue, and a sharp eye for the small absurdities of bourgeois life. Among the works most often singled out are L'Anglais tel qu'on le parle (1899), Triplepatte (1905, written with André Godfernaux), Monsieur Codomat (1907), and the humorous novel Les Mémoires d’un jeune homme rangé (1899).

Bernard's life also crossed some of the darkest history of twentieth-century France: sources on the Drancy internment camp list him among its notable inmates during the Nazi occupation. He is still remembered not just as a playwright, but as a quick, humane comic voice in French literature.