Novelist and short-story writer Alphonse Daudet was born on May 13, 1840 in Nimes, France. At the age of 14, he wrote his first novel. He worked as a teacher in Alais, a journalist in Paris, and as a private secretary for Duke de Morny from 1861 to 1865. He married fellow writer Julia Allard in 1867. He enlisted in the army during the Franco-Prussian war. He is primarily remembered for his sentimental tales of provincial life in the south of France. His novel Fromont the Younger and Risler the Elder won an award from the Academie Francaise. He died on December 16, 1897 in Paris.
Alphonse Daudet est un ecrivain francais, mort en 1897. Grand conteur, certains des recits des "Lettres de mon moulin" sont restes parmi les histoires les plus populaires de notre litterature, comme "La Chevre de monsieur Seguin," "Les Trois Messes basses" ou "L'Elixir du Reverend Pere Gaucher." Le premier vrai roman d'Alphonse Daudet fut "Le Petit Chose," roman autobiographique ou l'auteur evoque son passe de maitre d'etudes au college d'Ales.