Born in 1838, Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, Comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam came of an illustrious Breton line, latterly more distinguished for its poverty and eccentricity. His grandfather, who fought against the Revolution but failed to thrive under the Restoration, wrote to the Minister of Justice in 1815 that, had his name not been so long already, he would have asked the reigning monarch, Louis XVIII, 'to add to it that of "poor devil", and that is a name I really deserve.'

LRB 3 December 1981 | PDF Download