Eugène Mouton
Encyclopedia
Pierre Martin Désiré Eugène Mouton (12 April 1823, Marseille
, - 8 June 1902, Paris
) was a French writer of comic, adventure, and fantastical literature, and is considered an early writer of science fiction
. He wrote under the name Mérinos. The son of a military officer father and a Creole
mother, he lived in Guadeloupe
until the age of ten. In 1848 he became a magistrate; his career progressed upward for the next 20 years, and he rose to the rank of prosecutor. During his time in Rodez
he helped to implement one of the first mobile libraries in France.
He wrote for various newspapers, and his first story was published in 1857 when L'Invalide à la tête de bois (The Invalid with the Wooden Head) appeared in Le Figaro
under the pen name of Mérinos. His subsequent success caused him to resign from the magistracy in 1868 in order to devote himself to writing. His principal works are Les lois pénales en France (1868), Nouvelles et fantaisies humoristisques (1873 and 1876), Voyages et aventures du Marius Cougourdan (1879), and Histoire de l'invalide à la tête de bois (1887).
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, - 8 June 1902, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was a French writer of comic, adventure, and fantastical literature, and is considered an early writer of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. He wrote under the name Mérinos. The son of a military officer father and a Creole
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
mother, he lived in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
until the age of ten. In 1848 he became a magistrate; his career progressed upward for the next 20 years, and he rose to the rank of prosecutor. During his time in Rodez
Rodez
Rodez is a town and commune in southern France, in the Aveyron department, of which it is the capital. Its inhabitants are called Ruthénois.-History:Existing from at least the 5th century BC, Rodez was founded by the Celts...
he helped to implement one of the first mobile libraries in France.
He wrote for various newspapers, and his first story was published in 1857 when L'Invalide à la tête de bois (The Invalid with the Wooden Head) appeared in Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
under the pen name of Mérinos. His subsequent success caused him to resign from the magistracy in 1868 in order to devote himself to writing. His principal works are Les lois pénales en France (1868), Nouvelles et fantaisies humoristisques (1873 and 1876), Voyages et aventures du Marius Cougourdan (1879), and Histoire de l'invalide à la tête de bois (1887).