Charles Paul de Kock
Charles Paul de Kock (May 21, 1793 in Passy, Paris – April 27, 1871 in Paris) was a French novelist. Although one of the most popular writers of his day in terms of book sales, he acquired a literary reputation for low-brow output in poor taste.[1] In 2021 Brad Bigelow wrote: "Today, if we set aside over-priced print on demand reprints of his ancient editions, the works of Paul de Kock haven't seen a new English edition (or translation) in at least a century."[2]
Biography
His father,
Paul de Kock began life as a banker's clerk.[3] For the most part he resided on the Boulevard St. Martin in Paris, where he was born and lived out his life, rarely leaving the city.[2]
He began to write for the stage very early and composed many operatic
Literary reputation
By 1830, de Kock was one of the most popular authors in Europe. His books typically sold 2–3,000 copies, while
According to
One of the characters in
The 1905
Anne O'Neil-Henry, a modern academic who has taken an interest in de Kock, calls him "the July Monarchy's bourgeois writer par excellence," but that "by the 1830s his name carried a specific connotation: 'Paul de Kock' signified 'bad' literature, a sort of … marker of poor taste." However, she clarifies, "while critics around 1830 began to use his name synonymously with lowbrow literature, many of their reviews evinced an appreciation of some elements of his work and recognition of his successful command of the taste of modern readers. Simply put, 'Paul de Kock' did not always signify 'Paul de Kock'."[1]
Works
Paul de Kock wrote about 100 volumes. With the exception of a few excursions into historical romance and some miscellaneous works of which his share in La Grande yule, Paris (1842), is the chief, they are all stories of middle-class Parisian life, of guinguettes and cabarets and equivocal adventures of one sort or another. The most famous are André le Savoyard (1825) and Le Barbier de Paris (1826).[3] The stories are full of observation at first hand and of spicy humor.
Typical examples of his work are:[8]
- Gustave le mauvais sujet (1821)
- Frère Jacques (1822)
- La laitière de Montfermeil (1827)
- Monsieur Dupont (1825)
- Un Tourlouron (1837)
- La femme, le mari et l'amant (1829)
- Le cocu (1831)
- La pucelle de Belleville (1834)
A 56-volume edition of his works came out in 1884. He has had imitators, among them his son Henri (1819–92).[8]
Further reading
- Paul de Kock, Mémoires (1873)
- Th. Trimm, La vie de Charles Paul de Kock (Paris, 1873)
Notes
- ^ a b Anne O'Neil-Henry (2017). Mastering the Marketplace: Popular Literature in Nineteenth-Century France. University of Nebraska Press.
- ^ a b c d Brad Bigelow (July 12, 2021). "That Rascal Paul de Kock". The Neglected Books Page. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ a b c public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kock, Charles Paul de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 885. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Théophile Gautier (1858). "Paul de Kock". Portraits of the Day. p. 187.
- William Thackeray (1841). Loose sketches, an Eastern adventure, etc. F.T. Sabin. p. 71.
- ^ Poor Folk, Everyman's Library (1948), p. 63
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). . Encyclopedia Americana.
- ^ New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
External links
- 1867 Caricature of Charles Paul de Kock by André Gill
- Works by Paul de Kock at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Charles Paul de Kock at Internet Archive
- Works by Charles Paul de Kock at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- The Guardian Angel A short excerpt from Zizine (1837) and That Rascal Gustave (Gustave le Mauvais Sujet) - Multiple formats at Ex-classics.