Erckmann-Chatrian


Erckmann-Chatrian was the name used by French authors Émile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrian, nearly all of whose works were jointly written.

History

Both Erckmann and Chatrian were born in the département of Meurthe, in the Lorraine region in the extreme north-east of France. They specialised in military fiction and ghost stories in a rustic mode Lifelong friends who first met in the spring of 1847, they finally quarreled during the mid-1880s, after which they did not produce any more stories jointly. During 1890 Chatrian died, and Erckmann wrote a few pieces under his own name.
Many of Erckmann-Chatrian's works were translated into English by Adrian Ross.
Tales of supernatural horror by the duo that are well known in English include "The Wild Huntsman", "The Man-Wolf" and "The Crab Spider." These stories received praise from the renowned English ghost story writer, M. R. James, as well as H. P. Lovecraft.
Erckmann-Chatrian wrote numerous historical novels, some of which attacked the Second Empire in anti-monarchist terms. Partly as a result of their republicanism, they were praised by Victor Hugo and Émile Zola, and fiercely attacked in the pages of Le Figaro. Gaining popularity from 1859 for their nationalistic, anti-militaristic and anti-German sentiments, they were well-selling authors but had trouble with political censorship throughout their careers. Generally the novels were written by Erckmann, and the plays mostly by Chatrian.
A festival in their honour is held every summer in the town of Erckmann's birth, Phalsbourg, which also contains a military museum exhibiting editions of their works.

Works

First works

Many of these were not published until the 1860s.