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 and beloved writers of his day, especially in terms of book sales, he acquired a literary reputation among critics for being low-brow and in poor taste. 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."

Biography

His father, Jean Conrad de Kock, a banker of Dutch extraction, was guillotined in Paris 24 March 1794, a victim of the Reign of Terror. His mother, Anne-Marie Perret, née Kirsberger, was a widow from Basel.

Paul de Kock began life as a banker's clerk. 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.

He began to write for the stage very early and composed many operatic libretti. His first novel, L'Enfant de ma femme (1811), was published at his own expense when he was 18 years old. In 1820 he began his long and successful series of novels dealing with Parisian life with Georgette, ou la Nièce du tabellion. He was most prolific and successful during the Restoration and the early days of Louis Philippe.

Literary reputation

By 1830, de Kock was one of the most popular authors in Europe. His books typically sold 2–3,000 copies, while Balzac, George Sand, and Eugène Sue were fortunate to sell more than 1,000 of theirs.

According to Théophile Gautier, "There never was an author more popular in the real meaning of the word. He was read by everybody, by the statesman as well as by the commercial traveller and the schoolboy, by the great ladies in society and by the grisettes." According to William Thackeray, in 1841, "The French writer whose works are best known in England is Monsieur Paul de Kock." But, he cautioned, "Talk to a French educated gentleman about this author, and he shrugs his shoulders, and says it is pitoyable."