In fiction, Bourget carries realistic observation beyond the externals (which fixed the attention of Zola and Maupassant) to states of the mind: he unites the method of Stendhal to that of Balzac. He is always interesting and amusing. He takes himself seriously and persists in regarding the art of writing fiction as a science. He has wit, humor, charm, and lightness of touch, and ardently strives after philosophy and intellectuality -- qualities that are rarely found in fiction.

Author Biography

Paul Charles Joseph Bourget (1852 - 1935) was a French novelist and critic. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Between 1872 and 1873, he produced a volume of verse, Au Bord de la Mer, which was followed by others, the last, Les Aveux, appearing in 1882. Meanwhile, he was making a name in literary journalism and in 1883 he published Essais de Psychologie Contemporaine, studies of eminent writers first printed in the Nouvelle Revue and now brought together. In 1884 Bourget paid a long visit to Britain, where he wrote his first published story (L'Irreparable). Cruelle Enigme followed in 1885; then Andre Cornelis (1886) and Mensonges (1887) - inspired by Octave Mirbeau's life - were received with much favor.