Léon Cladel (

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...

, 22 March 1834 – 21 July 1892,

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

) was a French

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

. The son of an artisan, he studied law at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

and became a solicitor's clerk in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. Cladel made a limited reputation by his first book, ''Les Martyrs ridicules'' (1862), a novel for which

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...

, whose literary disciple Cladel was, wrote a preface. He then returned to his native district of

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue ...

in southwestern France, where he produced a series of stories of peasant life in ''Eral le dompteur'' (1865), ''Le Nomm Qouael'' (1868) and other volumes, similar to the works of

Émile Pouvillon Émile Pouvillon (1840 in Montauban1906 in Chambéry) was a French novelist. He published a collection of stories entitled ''Nouvelles réalistes'' in 1878. Making himself the chronicler of his native province of Quercy in southwestern France, h ...

. Returning to Paris he published the two novels which are generally acknowledged as his best work, ''Le Bouscassié'' (1869) and ''La

Fête votive A patronal feast or patronal festival ( es, fiesta patronal; pt, festa patronal; ca, festa patronal; it, festa patronale; french: fête patronale) is a yearly celebration dedicated, in countries influenced by Christianity, to the "heavenly advoc ...

de Saint-Bartholomée Porte-Glaive'' (1872). ''Une Maudite'' (1876) was judged dangerous to public morals and cost its author a month's imprisonment. Other works by Cladel are ''Les Va-nu-pieds'' (1873), a volume of short stories; ''N'a-qu'un-oeil'' (1882), ''Urbains et ruraux'' (1884), ''Gueux de marque'' (1887), and the posthumous ''Juive errante'' (1897). He died in

on 21 July 1892.

References

* ''La Vie de Léon Cladel'' (Paris, 1905), by his daughter

Judith Cladel Judith Cladel, (March 25, 1873 – January 29, 1958) was a French playwright, novelist, biographer and journalist. Life and career Born and lived in Paris, she was a member of the jury of the prix Femina from 1916 to 1958. She began to write at a ...

, containing also an article on Cladel by

Edmond Picard Edmond Picard (15 December 1836 – 19 February 1924) was a Belgian jurist and writer. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Career He was lawyer at the court of appeal and the Court of Cassation of Belgium. He was ...

, a complete list of his works, and of the critical articles on his work.
''New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors ''
* '' The Symbolist Movement in Literature'' (1919),

Arthur Symons Arthur William Symons (28 February 186522 January 1945) was a British poet, critic and magazine editor. Life Born in Milford Haven, Wales, to Cornish parents, Symons was educated privately, spending much of his time in France and Italy. In 1884 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cladel, Leon 1835 births 1892 deaths People from Montauban Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French novelists French male novelists 19th-century French male writers