Louis Ulbach

Louis Ulbach (7 March 182216 April 1889) was a French novelist, essayist and journalist. He published seventy-six volumes, wrote three plays, and wrote numerous articles and political or biographical pamphlets. His romantic novels were compared to the works of Émile Zola and Alphonse Daudet.

He edited the Revue de Paris and published La Cloche, which was suppressed in 1869 for its hostility to the Second French Empire. He was imprisoned twice for his publication of La Cloche. He was a leader in the movement for perpetual copyright to authors.

He died in Paris on 16 April 1889,

Career and politics He was encouraged to take up a literary career by Victor Hugo. His romance novels were compared to the works of Émile Zola and Alphonse Daudet. The Confession of an Abbe was published in English by the month of his death. Described as a powerful story, it tells the story of a priest who "in a moment of passion forgets his vows." The Steel Hammer was another of his books that was translated into English.

He was connected with L'Indépendance Belge for many years. He edited the Revue de Paris from 1852 until its suppression in 1858. As Ferragus, he called the novel Thérèse Raquin "putrid" in a long diatribe. It was said sarcastically of Ulbach that he was so painfully careful with his style that "he would split a hair in four."

In 1868 he founded a weekly journal, La Cloche, patterned after La Lanterne by Henri Rochefort. Upon on his release he revived the paper he got into trouble both with the commune and the government, and was again imprisoned in 1871–1872. When he was released, he devoted himself to literature and withdrew from politics. He was the editor of Raillement in 1876. In 1878 he was made librarian of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal.