Louis Ulbach
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Louis Ulbach (7 March 182216 April 1889) was a French novelist, essayist and journalist. He published seventy-six volumes, wrote three plays, and wrote numerous articles and political or biographical pamphlets. His romantic novels were compared to the works of
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
and
Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ' ...
. He edited the '' Revue de Paris'' and published ''La Cloche'', which was suppressed in 1869 for its hostility to the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
. He was imprisoned twice for his publication of ''La Cloche''. He was a leader in the movement for perpetual copyright to authors. In 1877, he was awarded the cross of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
.


Personal life

Ulbach was born at
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
in the department of
Aube Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),
. He was described as a genial, intelligent, witty, and interesting man who was a notable conversationalist. He was a member of Jules Simon's salon with
Edmond François Valentin About Edmond François Valentin About (14 February 182816 January 1885) was a French people, French novelist, publicist and journalist. Biography About was born at Dieuze, in the Moselle ''département'' in the Lorraine (région), Lorraine region of ...
and other Frenchmen to discuss literary, political, and other current events. He was a popular leader within literary circles. When
Elisabeth of Wied Elisabeth of Wied (Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise; 29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage ...
, the Queen of Romania, was a girl, Ulbrach was said to have been her literary professor in Paris. Louis Ulbach was credited with "introducing the world to the pleasant pretty book of the Queen of Romania, the 'Pensees d'une Reine'." He was presented to the Queen at summer residence when he traveled to
Sinaia Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after ...
in Romania. Upon seeing her works that were written in French, he encouraged her to publish a selection. He died in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on 16 April 1889, after a long illness.


Career and politics

He was encouraged to take up a literary career by
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
. When he was 22, Ulbach published a volume of poetry entitled ''Gloriana''. After he graduated from college in 1845, he founded the ''La Revue des Famillies'' publication at Troyes. He moved to Paris in 1848 and saw the
French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...
. He took rank among the Republicans, and opposed the
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
as a Liberal. He wrote a long series of novels and dramas of the French school of sensationalism. His romance novels were compared to the works of
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
and
Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ' ...
. Among his works are: ''Voyage autour de mon clocher'' (1864), ''Nos contemporains'' (1869–1871), ''Le Sacrifice of Aurélie'' (1873), ''Lettres d’une Honte Femme'' (written under the name Madeleine, 1873), ''La Ronde de Nuit'' (1874), ''Aventures de trois grandes dames de la cour de Vienne'' (3 vols., 1876); ''Le Baron Americain'' (1876), ''La Vie de Victor Hugo'' (1886), ''Le Compte Orphee'' (1878), and ''Les Buveurs de poisons: la fée verte'' (1879). He is also known for ''Mme. Gosselin'', published in an English version, and his novels ''The Steel Hammer'', and its sequel ''For Fifteen''. ''The Confession of an Abbe'' was published in English by the month of his death. Described as a powerful story, it tells the story of a priest who "in a moment of passion forgets his vows." ''The Steel Hammer'' was another of his books that was translated into English. Ulbach was a Feuilletonist. The
feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...
was the literary consequence of the
Coup of 18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the Fr ...
(Dix-huit-Brumaire). The feuilleton, which dealt ostensibly with literature, the drama and other harmless topics, but which, nevertheless, could make political capital out of the failure of a book or a play, under the Napoleonic nose, became a power. He was connected with '' L'Indépendance Belge'' for many years. He edited the '' Revue de Paris'' from 1852 until its suppression in 1858. He became dramatic critic of the ''Temps'', and attracted attention by a series of satirical letters addressed to ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' over the signature of 'Ferragus', and published separately in 1868. As Ferragus, he called the novel ''
Thérèse Raquin ''Thérèse Raquin'' () is an early novel by French writer Émile Zola. It appeared in serial form from August–October 1867 in the magazine ''L'Artiste'', and was published in book form later that year. Although it was Zola's third novel, it ...
'' "putrid" in a long diatribe. It was said sarcastically of Ulbach that he was so painfully careful with his style that "he would split a hair in four." In 1868 he founded a weekly journal, ''La Cloche'', patterned after ''La Lanterne'' by
Henri Rochefort Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...
. ''La Cloche'' was suppressed in 1869 for its hostility to the empire. Ulbach was imprisoned for six months at
Sainte-Pélagie Prison Sainte-Pélagie was a prison in Paris, in active use from 1790 to 1899. It was founded earlier than that, however, in 1662, as place for "repentant girls" and later "debauched women and girls." The former Parisian prison was located between the ...
after he had written that the Greek translation of Napoleon was "executioner". Upon on his release he revived the paper he got into trouble both with the commune and the government, and was again imprisoned in 1871–1872. When he was released, he devoted himself to literature and withdrew from politics. He was the editor of ''Raillement'' in 1876. In 1878 he was made
librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...
of the
Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal The Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal (, ''Library of the Arsenal'', founded 1757) in Paris has been part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France since 1934. History The collections of the library originated with the private library of Marc Antoine ...
. He was a leader in the movement for perpetual copyright to authors.


References


Further reading

* The polemic between Louis Ulbach and Emile Zola concerning Thérèse Raquin at the moment of the novel's publication gave Zola the chance to develop his thoughts on the relation between science and literature in his responses to Ulbach and in his prefaces to the novel.


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulbach, Louis 1822 births 1889 deaths People from Troyes French critics 19th-century French novelists French male novelists French male short story writers 19th-century French short story writers 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French journalists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Legion of Honour