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Erckmann-Chatrian

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Authors

The Resume

    Joint pen name used by French writers, Emile Erckmann (1822-1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (1826-1890)
    Both born in Moselle (the Lorraine region), <4858 France
    Published Le Démocrate du Rhin in the 1850s
    Collaborated, together, on over 60 literary works
    Best known as the authors of 'Hugues-le-loup' (The Man Wolf, 1859), 'Madame Therese' (1863), 'Histoire d’un conscrit de 1813' (1864), 'L’Ami Fritz' (1864), 'Waterloo' (1865), 'Histoire d’un homme du peuple' (1865), 'La Maison forestière' (1866), 'La Guerre' (1866), 'Le Blocus' (1866) and 'Le Juif Polanais' (1867)

Why they might be annoying:

    They frequently squabbled over contract negotiations.
    Their fantasy/horror stories overshadowed their historical fiction/political writings.
    They were major literary figures in their prime, but have now been almost completely overshadowed by their contemporaries (Hugo, Zola, Dumas).
    They were always jointly credited, but it was widely known that Erckmann generally was the sole author of their novels, while Chatrian was the sole author of their plays.
    Their partnership dissolved, in 1885, when Chatrian revealed to Erckmann that he had been accepting the services of a ghostwriter while he coped with a worsening mental illness.
    Their feud worsened when Chatrian's secretary published an article slandering Erckmann, prompting him to file a libel suit against Chatrian.
    Any hope of reconciliation ended, a year later, when Erckmann's visa expired, around the same time Chatrian suffered a fatal nervous breakdown.
    Their 'Waterloo' novel fell victim to Marvel Comics' 'Classics Illustrated' abridgement butchery (sort of the 1940s precursor to Sparknotes).

Why they might not be annoying:

    They were praised by Victor Hugo.
    H.P. Lovecraft was a huge fan.
    They met during the buildup to the French Revolution of 1848.
    They frequently clashed with monarchist censors (one of their plays was banned after only two performances).
    Their depictions of rural and middle-class French life in their novels have been praised as more realistic than those of their more famous counterparts.
    Their proximity to the Alsace-Lorraine region meant that they had actual skin-in-the-game when they criticized the Franco-Prussian War in their writings.
    A summer festival is held annually in their honor, in Phalsbourg (the town of Erckmann's birth).
    The town also is home to a military museum exhibiting editions of their works.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 67 Votes: 55.22% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying