I think one of the most interesting (and probably one of the most misunderstood) literary figures of the late XIXth century was Pierre Loti. Loti was one of the very first man in history to truely live the life of what we like to call today an international player. His life has been incredibly rich and meaningful despite the huge limitations of his time.
He travelled to South America, Tahiti, Western and North Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, China and Japan as a sailor and a diplomat, carefully taking ample notes of his adventures.
He saw engaging in romantic relationships with exotic women as a mean to purify himself from what he thought were the negative influences of western civilization.
Aziyadé, his most famous book, was inspired by his affaire with a turkish woman who belonged to the harem of an Ottoman dignitary. One of his other works, Madame Chrysanthème, is based on his trip to Japan where he concluded a temporary mariage with a young Nagasaki girl.
Loti was actually a pen name which had been given to him by the queen of Tahiti. It's the name of a flower.
Very few of his novels have been translated into English unfortunately. Today in France Pierre Loti is neglected and his works are labelled as old fashioned colonial literature, which probably tells more about the prejudices of the critics than Loti himself.
He travelled to South America, Tahiti, Western and North Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, China and Japan as a sailor and a diplomat, carefully taking ample notes of his adventures.
He saw engaging in romantic relationships with exotic women as a mean to purify himself from what he thought were the negative influences of western civilization.
Aziyadé, his most famous book, was inspired by his affaire with a turkish woman who belonged to the harem of an Ottoman dignitary. One of his other works, Madame Chrysanthème, is based on his trip to Japan where he concluded a temporary mariage with a young Nagasaki girl.
Loti was actually a pen name which had been given to him by the queen of Tahiti. It's the name of a flower.
Very few of his novels have been translated into English unfortunately. Today in France Pierre Loti is neglected and his works are labelled as old fashioned colonial literature, which probably tells more about the prejudices of the critics than Loti himself.