Émile Souvestre

CROWNED BY THE FRENCH ACADEMY Parisian novelist Emile Souvestre was born in 1806 in Morlaix, the son of a civil engineer. Later, Souvestre studied law, and worked in many professions, from journalist to schoolmaster, before entering upon a life of letters. During his lifetime, his novels were popular and well-received. Souvestre is the author of a very early science fiction novel, The World as it Will Be (Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera), first-published in 1846. An "Attic" Philosopher is the tale, in epistemological form, of one year in the life a young clerk who lives in an attic -- not a Greek philosopher. A kindly and thoughtful, if impulsive young man, the clerk's experiences will inspire and delight you from January 1 to December 31 -- and they provide an especially interesting portrait of life in Paris in the mid-Nineteenth century that contrasts with the acerbic, cynical vision of Balzac or the amoral world of Flaubert.