X.-B. (Xavier-Boniface) Saintine

Born in Paris in 1798, Xavier-Boniface Saintine wrote under the name X. B. Saintine. He was a French novelist and dramatist, and his career placed him in the lively literary world of 19th-century France.

He is best known for Picciola, published in 1836. The novel tells of a political prisoner whose spirit is revived by caring for a tiny flower growing in his prison yard, and it became his most famous work, winning readers well beyond France.

Saintine also wrote for the stage and published other fiction, but Picciola remains the book most closely linked with his name. He died in Paris in 1865, leaving behind a body of work remembered for its sentiment, compassion, and strong storytelling.