Émile Erckmann

Émile Erckmann (20 May 1822 — 14 March 1899) was a French writer, strongly associated with the region of Alsace-Lorraine. Almost all of his works were written jointly with Alexandre Chatrian under the name Erckmann-Chatrian.

He was born in Phalsbourg (Moselle), in Lorraine, and matured there. His mother died in 1832 and he was sent to boarding school.

He obtained his baccalaureat at Nancy before studying law at Paris from 1842. His first published work was Du recrutement militaire ("On military recruitment", 1843). Two years later he failed his third year of law and returned to Phalsbourg, ill with typhoid, where in the spring of 1847 he made the acquaintance of Alexandre Chatrian, a teacher. They became friends and spent their summer holidays together.

While staying at Paris, Erckmann witnessed the Revolution of 1848: inspired, they founded a political society in Phalsbourg and a short-lived newsletter at Strasbourg. Their politics were republican and nationalistic. At the beginning of the 1850s they began publishing in Le Démocrate du Rhin, expecting quick success, but after several years they became disillusioned. A play performed at Strasbourg in 1850, L'Alsace en 1814, was banned after just two performances. Erckmann moved to Rosny-sous-Bois and resumed his study of law in 1854. His father, Jean-Philippe, died in February 1858.

Recognition came in 1859 and they became well known as fantasy writers under the joint pseudonym of Émile Erckmann-Chatrian. (Tales of supernatural horror by the duo that are famous in English include "The Wild Huntsman" (tr. 1871), "The Man-Wolf" (tr. 1876) and "The Crab Spider"). They moved together to Paris, where they lived close to the east railway station and returned frequently to Lorraine. By 1868, Erckmann was wealthy enough to buy back the sawmill at Grosshammerweyer. In the same year the publisher Hetzel bought exclusive rights to their work.

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