''Le Voleur'' was an illustrated literary magazine published weekly in Paris from 1828 until 1907. It was established by Charles Lautour-Mézeray and

Émile de Girardin Émile de Girardin (; 22 June 180227 April 1881) was a French journalist, publisher and politician. He was the most successful and flamboyant French journalist of the era, presenting himself as a promoter of mass education through mass journalism ...

. During its existence, it had a variety of subtitles including ''Journal littéraire de Paris'' and ''Gazette des journaux français et étrangers''. In the last decades of its publication it went by the title ''Le Voleur illustré''. The journal published literary criticism, satire, interviews, extracts from recently published or soon-to-be published fiction, and reprints of (often sensationalist) articles from other magazines and newspapers.Yousif, Keri (2016)
''Balzac, Grandville, and the Rise of Book Illustration''
pp. 9; 23–24. Routledge. The title of ''Le Voleur'' (French for "The Thief") reflected its practice of lifting articles and illustrations from other publications, often without credit to the previous author or publication. Plagiarism was pervasive in French journals in the 19th century. However, ''Le Voleur'' was quite explicit about it. The editorial of its first issue (5 April 1828) stated that each month 136 newspapers and magazines were published in Paris and ''Le Voleur'' would "pillage from whatever it could find." An example of this is the tale of

Don Vincente Don Vincente, also known as Don Vicente and Fray Vicents, is a fictional character whose story was first published as an anonymity, anonymous article in the French newspaper ''La Gazette des Tribunaux'', in 1836. The legend was subsequently cited ...

, an alleged Spanish monk, serial killer and bibliomaniac. The story was first published in France as a factual court case in the ''Gazette des Tribunaux'' on 23 October 1836. A week later ''Le Voleur'' published an abridged version. The articles are thought to have inspired the fourteen-year-old

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

to write his first published short-story, "Bibliomanie" which appeared in the

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

literary magazine ''Le Colibri'' in 1837. Amongst the literary works by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

which appeared in ''Le Voleur'' were fragments from '' Gobseck'' under the title ''L'Usurier'' (August 1830) and ''

La Peau de chagrin ''La Peau de chagrin'' (, ''The Skin of Shagreen''), known in English as ''The Magic Skin'' and ''The Wild Ass's Skin'', is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tel ...

'' under the title ''Une débauche'' (June 1831) and the complete text of his short story ''Un drame au bord de la mer'' (November 1834). From 1829 to 1831 Balzac also worked as a journalist for the magazine as well as for two other publications owned by Lautour-Mézeray and Girardin–''La Mode'' and ''La Silhouette''. Other journalists who wrote for ''Le Voleur'' included Frédéric Soulié and Samuel-Henri Berthoud.Barbéris, Pierre (1970). ''Balzac et le mal du siècle'', Vol. 2. p. 851. Gallimard

References

External links

Complete issues of ''Le Voleur'' (1869–1907)
on Gallica (

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Voleur Defunct literary magazines published in France Defunct French-language magazines French literary criticism Magazines established in 1828 Magazines disestablished in 1907 Defunct magazines published in Paris Weekly magazines published in France