Summary: Feuillet was born at Saint-Lô, Manche (Normandy). His father Jacques Feuillet was a prominent lawyer and Secretary-General of La Manche, but also a hypersensitive invalid. His mother died when he was an infant. Feuillet inherited some of his father's nervous excitability, though not to the same degree. He was sent to Lycée Louis-le Grand, in Paris, where he achieved high distinction, and was destined for the diplomatic service.In 1840 he told his father that he planned to be a writer instead, and the elder Feuillet disowned his son. Octave Feuillet returned to Paris and lived as best he could by becoming a journalist. In company with Paul Bocage he wrote the plays Echec et mat, Palma ou la nuit de Vendredi saint, and La Vieillesse de Richelieu. His father forgave him three years later and granted him an allowance. Feuillet enjoyed a comfortable existence in Paris and published his first novels.

Books of Octave Feuillet