Dictionary.net

A French novelist; born in Granville, Sept. 11, 1821; died in February 1891. In 1844-48 he was paymaster in the army at Algiers, and began to write in 1868, somewhat on the lines of Emile Gaboriau. His novels were popular, and include: "The Scoundrels" (Paris, 1873); "Chevalier Casse-Con" (1873); "The Mysteries of Modern Paris" (1876); "The Demi-Monde under the Terror" (1877); "The Old Age of M. Lecoq" (1878); "The Cat's Eye" (1888); and "The Cold Hand" (1879).