Louis Henri Boussenard (4 October 1847, Escrennes,

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

s, dubbed "the French

Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction Romance (literary fiction), romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the Lost World (genre), lost world litera ...

" during his lifetime, but known better presently in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

than in Francophone countries. As a measure of his popularity, 40 volumes of his collected works were published in

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

during 1911. A physician by profession, Boussenard travelled throughout the French colonies, especially in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He was drafted during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

but soon capitulated to the Prussian soldiers, an experience that could explain a nationalist theme present in many of his novels. Some of his books demonstrate a certain disdain of Britons and Americans, a fact which likely contributed to his obscurity and lack of translations in the English-speaking countries. The author's picaresque humour flourished in his earliest books, ''À travers Australie: Les dix millions de l'Opossum rouge'' (1879), ''Le tour du monde d'un gamin de Paris'' (1880), ''Les Robinsons de la Guyane'' (1882), ''Aventures périlleuses de trois Français au pays des diamants'' (1884, set in a mysterious cavern underneath the

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

), ''The Crusoes of Guyana; or, The White Tiger'' (1885), and ''Les étrangleurs du Bengale'' (1901).archive.org
/ref> Boussenard's best-known book ''Le Capitaine Casse-Cou'' (1901) was set at the time of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. ''L'île en feu'' (1898) fictionalized

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

's struggle for independence. Aspiring to emulate

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, Boussenard also produced several

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novels, notably ''Les secrets de monsieur Synthèse'' (1888) and ''Dix mille ans dans un bloc de glace'' (1890), both translated by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

in 2013 with the title ''Monsieur Synthesis''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boussenard, Louis Henri 1847 births 1910 deaths People from Loiret French science fiction writers 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers French explorers French male novelists 19th-century French male writers French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War