Fortuné du Boisgobey

Life

Fortuné du Boisgobey was born at Granville (Manche), and graduated from the Lycée Saint-Louis. He served as paymaster to the Army of Africa through several campaigns in Algeria from 1844 to 1848. His parents were wealthy, yet at forty or upwards, he took to writing.

In 1843, using the name Fortuné Abraham-Dubois, he made his literary debut in the Journal d'Avranches with a series entitled Lettres de Sicile recounting a voyage he had taken the year before. His first successful novel, Les Deux comédiens appeared in 1868, under the du Boisgobey pen name in the Petit Journal. The story was popular, and M. Paul Dalloz of the Petit Moniteur signed a contract with the author for seven years at 12,000ƒ a year. His reputation was increased by the publication of Une Affaire mystérieuse and Le Forçat colonel, both published there in 1869. In 1877, Figaro engaged him for a series of novels, which increased the success of that paper. He was prolific, with more than sixty works to his name, and became one of the most popular feuilleton writers. In 1885 and 1886 he was President of the Committee of the Société des gens de lettres. Du Boisgobey died in 1891 after a long illness.

Works

Du Boisgobey was the chief of the followers of Émile Gaboriau, with whom his name is generally associated. He even wrote a sequel, La Vieillesse de M. Lecoq, using Gaboriau's character Monsieur Lecoq in 1877-78. His novels deal with crime, the police, and Parisian life. They had a high circulation, and the greater part of them have been translated into English.

English translations exist for the following works.