Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt (; 17 December 183020 June 1870) was a French writer, who published books together with his brother Edmond. Jules was born and died in Paris. His death at the age of 39 was at Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy of a stroke brought on by syphilis. The

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

is awarded annually in his honor.

Biography

Background

Jules de Goncourt was born in Paris, the fourth child of a former cavalry officer and squadron leader in the Grande Armée of Napoléon I, Marc-Pierre Huot de Goncourt, and his wife Annette-Cécile de Goncourt (née Guérin). Between Jules and his older brother Edmond were born two sisters who died at young ages, Nephtalie (1824-1825) and Émilie (1829-1832). Jules' paternal grandfather, Huot de Goncourt, sat as a deputy in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

of 1789. At the

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

, which he attended from 1842 to 1848, he was a strong student, obtaining two ''accessits'' in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in the

Concours général In France, the Concours Général is the most prestigious academic competition held every year between students of ''Première'' (11th grade) and ''Terminale'' (12th and final grade) in almost all subjects taught in both general, technological and ...

. Both parents died while their sons were still young; after their mothers' death in 1848, Jules and Edmond inherited a legacy which gave them financial independence and allowed them to pursue their artistic interests.

Career

The two brothers initially focused on art history scholarship, publishing books on late 18th century history and the "evolution of an age from the objects and articles of its social existence". The two brothers shared a love for 18th century art, assembling a large and esteemed collection of fine and decorative art from the period, as well as ephemera like letters, drawings, and prints. From 1856, Jules and Edmond published a series of essays called ''"L'Art du XVIIIe Siècle"'' (The Art of the 18th Century), which came to encompass 12 fascicles and was not finished until 1875. In the 1860s the brothers published novels characterized by Naturalism and an examination of the different social classes, which anticipates the work of later authors like

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

and George Moore. ''

Germinie Lacerteux ''Germinie Lacerteux'' (1865) is a grim, anti-Romantic novel by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt in which the authors aim to present, as they say, a "clinic of love." It is the fourth of six novels they wrote. The story is that of a poor country gi ...

'' (1864) is "one of the first realistic French novels of working class life" and was based on the life of the brother's housekeeper Rose, who stole from them to fund a secret life of orgies and sexual encounters. In 1862, Jules was imprisoned for several days in the ''Hôtel des Haricots'' for refusing to serve in the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

. In 1868, the brothers moved to the Villa Montmorency in the Parisian suburb of Auteuil. The house became something of a tourist attraction because of the brothers' collections, with newspapers publishing articles about it and strangers writing for permission to visit. After Jules's death in 1870, Edmond finished their uncompleted collaborations, including studies of three of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

's mistresses ( Madame de Pompadour, Madame du Barry, and the Duchess of Châteauroux) and a monograph on the artist Paul Gavarni. In 1885 Edmond published a selection of Jules's letters. He also continued the ''

Journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'', which the two brothers had begun in 1851, continuing it until his own death in 1896. From 1887 to 1896, Edmond published nine volumes of the journal. Jules de Goncourt is buried with his brother Edmond in the Cimetière de Montmartre.

Works

With

Edmond de Goncourt Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot d ...

: * ''La Revolution dans les moeurs'' (1854) * ''Histoire de la Société Française pendant la Révolution'' (1854) * ''Histoire de la Société Française pendant le Directoire'' (1855) * ''Une Voiture de Masques'' (1856) * ''Les Actrices (Armande)'' (1856) * ''Sophie Arnauld'' (1857) * ''Portraits Intimes du XVIIIe Siècle'' (1857-1858) * ''Histoire de Marie Antoinette'' (1858) * ''L'Art du XVIIIe Siècle (1859-1882)

Novels

* ''Les Hommes de Lettres'' (1860) * ''Sœur Philomène'' (1861) * ''Renée Mauperin'' (1864) * ''

'' (1865) * ''Manette Salomon'' (1867) * ''Madame Gervaisais'' (1869) * '' Journal des Goncourt'' (published posthumously)

Plays

*''Henriette Maréchal'' (Performed at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

in 1865) *''La patrie en danger'' (Published 1873, performed at the

Théâtre Libre The Théâtre Libre (French for "Free Theatre") was a theatre company that operated from 1887 to 1896 in Paris, France. Origins and History Théâtre Libre was founded on 30 March 1887 by André Antoine. The primary goal of the theatre was ...

in 1889)

Other

*''Lettres de Jules de Goncourt'' (1885) (published posthumously)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goncourt, Jules de 1830 births 1870 deaths 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French historians 19th-century journalists Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Deaths from syphilis French art critics French diarists French literary critics French male non-fiction writers French male novelists Male journalists Writers from Paris 19th-century diarists