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{{Short description|French novelist}}
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'''Charles Paul de Kock''' (May 21, 1793 in ], ] – April 27, 1871 in ]) was a French ]. 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.<ref name="Henry">{{cite book |title= Mastering the Marketplace: Popular Literature in Nineteenth-Century France |publisher= University of Nebraska Press |author= Anne O'Neil-Henry |year= 2017 }}</ref> In 2021 ] 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."<ref name="Bigelow" />
'''Charles Paul de Kock''' (May 21, 1793 in ], ] – April 27, 1871 in ]) was a French ].


==Biography== ==Biography==
His father, ], a ] of Dutch extraction, victim of ], was guillotined in ] 24 March 1794. His mother, Anne-Marie Perret, née Kirsberger, was a widow from ].{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Paul de Kock began life as a banker's clerk. For the most part he resided on the Boulevard St. Martin. His father, ], a ] of Dutch extraction, was guillotined in ] 24 March 1794, a victim of the ]. His mother, Anne-Marie Perret, ] Kirsberger, was a widow from ].{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}


Paul de Kock began life as a banker's clerk.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Kock, Charles Paul de|volume=15|page=885}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Bigelow" />
⚫ He began to write for the stage very early, and composed many operatic ]. His first novel, ''L'Enfant de ma femme'' (1811), was published at his own expense. 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 ] and the early days of ].

⚫ He began to write for the stage very early and composed many operatic ]. His first novel, ''L'Enfant de ma femme'' (1811), was published at his own expense when he was 18 years old.<ref name="Bigelow">{{cite web |url=https://neglectedbooks.com/?p=8325 |title=That Rascal Paul de Kock |work=] |author=Brad Bigelow |date=July 12, 2021 |accessdate=July 16, 2021}}</ref> 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 ] and the early days of ].<ref name="EB1911"/>


] ]
{{French literature sidebar}}


==Literary reputation==
⚫ He was relatively less popular in France itself than abroad, where he was considered as the special painter of life in Paris. Dostoevsky, in his novel Poor Folk (1846), writes that reading a novel by De Kock was not becoming for ladies<Poor Folk, Everyman's Library 1948 p. 63>. James Joyce's Ulysses includes references to Paul De Kock, including innuendos on his name in the Calypso, Sirens and Circe episodes. His novel The Girl with the Three Pairs of Stays is also mentioned in the Circe episode. Major Pendennis' remark (in the novel "]" by the English author ]) that he had read nothing of the novel kind for thirty years except Paul de Kock, who certainly made him laugh, is likely to remain one of the most durable of his testimonials, and may be classed with the legendary question of a foreign sovereign to a Frenchman who was paying his respects, ''Vous venez de Paris et vous devez savoir des nouvelles. Comment se porte Paul de Kock?'' The 1920 '']'' attributes his greater popularity abroad to his style, which it describes as his ''worst feature . . . barely presentable, a fault evidently due to deficiency of education. . . . the defects of style disappear in translation.''<ref>{{Americana|wstitle=Kock, Charles Paul de|year=1920|inline=1}}</ref>
By 1830, de Kock was one of the most popular authors in Europe. His books typically sold 2–3,000 copies, while ], ], and ] were fortunate to sell more than 1,000 of theirs.<ref name="Bigelow" />


According to ], "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 '']''."<ref>{{cite book |title=Portraits of the Day |chapter=Paul de Kock |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/completeworksoft03gautuoft/page/186/mode/2up |publisher= |author=] |year=1858 |page=187 }}</ref> According to ], 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''."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/loosesketcheseas00thacuoft/page/70/mode/2up |title=Loose sketches, an Eastern adventure, etc. |publisher=F.T. Sabin |author=] |year=1841 |page=71 }}</ref>
The disappearance of the ] and of the cheap dissipation described by ] practically made Paul de Kock obsolete. But to the student of manners his portraiture of low and middle class life in the first half of the 19th century at Paris still has its value.

⚫ One of the characters in ]'s novel '']'' (1846) wrote that reading a novel by de Kock was not becoming for ladies.<ref>''Poor Folk'', Everyman's Library (1948), p. 63</ref> ]'s ''Ulysses'' includes references to de Kock; Joyce plays with his name for bawdy humor in the Calypso, Sirens and Circe episodes, the last of which also specifically mentions de Kock's novel ''The Girl with the Three Pairs of Stays''. In Thackeray's '']'', the title character of the book remarks that he had read nothing of the "novel kind" for thirty years, except Paul de Kock, who certainly made him laugh. The 1920 '']'' attributes his popularity abroad to his style, which it describes as his "worst feature . . . barely presentable, a fault evidently due to deficiency of education. . . . the defects of style disappear in translation."<ref>{{Americana|wstitle=Kock, Charles Paul de|year=1920|inline=1}}</ref>

⚫ The 1905 '']'' describes his stories as "rather vulgar, but not immoral, demanding no literary training and gratifying no delicate taste". By this time he was seldom mentioned in the more conventional French histories of French literature.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Anne O'Neil-Henry, a modern academic who has taken an interest in de Kock, calls him "the ]'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'."<ref name="Henry" />


== Works == == 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 ]s and cabarets and equivocal adventures of one sort or another. The most famous are ''André le Savoyard'' (1825) and ''Le Barbier de Paris'' (1826). 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 ]s and cabarets and equivocal adventures of one sort or another. The most famous are ''André le Savoyard'' (1825) and ''Le Barbier de Paris'' (1826).<ref name="EB1911"/> The stories are full of observation at first hand and of spicy humor.


Typical examples of his work are:<ref name=nie>{{NIE|wstitle=Kock, Paul de|year=1905|inline=1}}</ref>
⚫ The stories are full of observation at first hand and of spicy humor. The 1905 '']'' describes his stories as ''rather vulgar, but not immoral, demanding no literary training and gratifying no delicate taste''. They were extraordinarily popular. In 1905, Paul de Kock was seldom mentioned in the more conventional French histories of French literature. Typical examples of his work are:<ref name=nie>{{NIE|wstitle=Kock, Paul de|year=1905|inline=1}}</ref>


* ''Gustave le mauvais sujet'' (1821) * ''Gustave le mauvais sujet'' (1821)
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==Notes== ==Notes==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Kock, Charles Paul de}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* *
* {{Gutenberg author |id=Kock,+Paul+de | name=Paul de Kock}} * {{Gutenberg author |id=34988| name=Paul de Kock}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Charles Paul de Kock}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Charles Paul de Kock}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1018}} * {{Librivox author |id=1018}}
* A short excerpt from ''Zizine'' (1837) at Ex-classics. * A short excerpt from ''Zizine'' (1837) and (Gustave le Mauvais Sujet) - Multiple formats at Ex-classics.


{{Authority control}} {{Authority control}}
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Latest revision as of 21:43, 1 February 2024

French novelist
An engraving of de Kock from 1873.

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. 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.

Caricature of de Kock, André Gill, 1867.

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 Eugene 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."

One of the characters in Dostoevsky's novel Poor Folk (1846) wrote that reading a novel by de Kock was not becoming for ladies. James Joyce's Ulysses includes references to de Kock; Joyce plays with his name for bawdy humor in the Calypso, Sirens and Circe episodes, the last of which also specifically mentions de Kock's novel The Girl with the Three Pairs of Stays. In Thackeray's Pendennis, the title character of the book remarks that he had read nothing of the "novel kind" for thirty years, except Paul de Kock, who certainly made him laugh. The 1920 Encyclopedia Americana attributes his popularity abroad to his style, which it describes as his "worst feature . . . barely presentable, a fault evidently due to deficiency of education. . . . the defects of style disappear in translation."

The 1905 New International Encyclopædia describes his stories as "rather vulgar, but not immoral, demanding no literary training and gratifying no delicate taste". By this time he was seldom mentioned in the more conventional French histories of French literature.

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'."

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). The stories are full of observation at first hand and of spicy humor.

Typical examples of his work are:

  • 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).

Further reading

  • Paul de Kock, Mémoires (1873)
  • Th. Trimm, La vie de Charles Paul de Kock (Paris, 1873)

Notes

  1. ^ Anne O'Neil-Henry (2017). Mastering the Marketplace: Popular Literature in Nineteenth-Century France. University of Nebraska Press.
  2. ^ Brad Bigelow (July 12, 2021). "That Rascal Paul de Kock". The Neglected Books Page. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kock, Charles Paul de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 885.
  4. Théophile Gautier (1858). "Paul de Kock". Portraits of the Day. p. 187.
  5. William Thackeray (1841). Loose sketches, an Eastern adventure, etc. F.T. Sabin. p. 71.
  6. Poor Folk, Everyman's Library (1948), p. 63
  7. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Kock, Charles Paul de" . Encyclopedia Americana.
  8. ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Kock, Paul de" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.

External links

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