Ernest d'Hervilly

Ernest d’Hervilly (Ernest Marie d’Hervilly; Paris, 26 May 1839 – Champigny-sur-Marne, 18 November 1911), French poet, journalist, playwright and writer for young people. A prominent representative of the Parnassians, known for his humorous and satirical works and pioneering adventure and prehistoric stories for children.

He worked as a draftsman and supervisor on Parisian construction projects, and from 1861 he wrote for Le Figaro and numerous republican newspapers (La Lune, L’Éclipse, Le Rappel). During the Second Empire he often used pseudonyms because his papers were banned. He joined the Parnassians and participated in the Parnasse contemporain. He was friends with Victor Hugo, and is depicted in the painting Un coin de table (1872) alongside Verlaine and Rimbaud.

Main works (selection): Poetry: La Lanterne en vers de couleurs (1868), Les Baisers (1872), Le Harem (1874). Prose: Contes pour les grandes personnes (1874), Aventures d’un petit garçon préhistorique en France (1888) – his most famous work for young people, En bouteille à travers l’Atlantique (1894). Theatre: several comedies and one-act plays (Le Malade réel, Le Docteur sans pareil, etc.).

Awarded several times by the French Academy, Knight of the Legion of Honor (1902). He wrote about 120 works for young people, many humorous sketches of Parisian life, and fantastic and science fiction stories. His style combines Parnassian form with lightness, humor, and satire. Today he is partly forgotten, but remains an important witness to Parisian literary life in the second half of the 19th century and a pioneer of the genre of children's adventure prose.