Georges Ohnet

Who was Georges Ohnet?

Georges Ohnet was a French novelist and man of letters.

Ohnet was educated at the Collège Sainte-Barbe and the Lycée Napoléon. After the Franco-Prussian War he became editor of the Pays and the Constitutionnel in succession. In collaboration with the engineer and dramatist Louis Denayrouze he produced the play Regina Sarpi, and in 1877 Marthe.

Ohnet was an admirer of Georges Sand and bitterly opposed to the realistic modern novel. He began a series of novels, Les Batailles de la vie, of a simple and idealistic character, which, although attacked by the critics as unreal and commonplace, were very popular. The series included Serge Panine which was crowned by the Academy; Le Maître de forges, La Grande Marnière, Volonté, Dernier Amour. Many of his novels have been dramatized with great success, Le Maître de forges, produced at the Gymnase in 1883, holding the stage for a whole year. His later publications include Le Crépuscule, Le Marchand de Poison, La Conquérante, La dixième muse. In 1902 he was elected president of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques.