Paul Adam (French novelist)


Paul Adam was a French novelist who became an early proponent of Symbolism in France, and one of the founders of the Symbolist review Le Symboliste.

Career

Adam's first novel, Chair molle, was the story of a prostitute in the Naturalist manner, which led to him being prosecuted for immorality before the Cour d'assises and sentenced to a fortnight in prison and a 500-franc fine. Together with Jean Moréas, he co-wrote Les Demoiselles Goubert, a novel that marked the transition between Naturalism and Symbolism in French literature. His Lettres de Malaisie was speculative fiction about politics in the future. He also wrote a series of historical novels that dealt with the period of the Napoleonic Wars and their aftermath; the first installment in the series, La Force, was published in 1899. It was followed by L'enfant d'Austerlitz, La ruse and Au soleil de Juillet. His novel Stephanie, which appeared in 1913, argued in favour of arranged marriages as opposed to those founded on romantic attachments. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
He was born and died in Paris.

Works

  1. La Force
  2. L'Enfant d'Austerlitz
  3. La Ruse, 1827-1828
  4. Au soleil de juillet, 1829-1830