Born: 16 February 1848 · Died: 16 February 1917 · Age at death: 69
How old was Octave Mirbeau when he died?
Octave Mirbeau died aged 69. He was born on 16 February 1848 and died on 16 February 1917.
French novelist, playwright and journalist of The Diary of a Chambermaid and The Torture Garden, a fierce social critic
Did you know?He was an early and influential art critic who helped launch the careers of famous painters like Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro.
Quick facts
Date of birth16 February 1848
Date of death16 February 1917
Age at death69
NationalityFrench
BirthplaceTrévières, France
Occupationplaywright, journalist, dramaturge
Editor's Take:
Mirbeau is a writer who refused to sit comfortably in any camp. He began on the political right, then became one of France's fiercest anarchist voices and a defender of Captain Dreyfus. His novels attacked hypocrisy in the church, the army and polite society with a savagery that still shocks readers. He also used his journalism to champion painters such as Monet, Rodin and Van Gogh when critics mocked them. He is a reminder that literary rebels often shape taste as much as they offend it.
Key Milestones
1886: Le Calvaire – first major novel
1898: Dreyfus Affair – campaigns for Dreyfus
1899: The Torture Garden – notorious novel
1900: Diary of a Chambermaid – later filmed by Buñuel
Octave Henri Marie Mirbeau (French:; 16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde with highly…
Octave Mirbeau: The Novelist Who Made Polite Society Squirm
French writer, critic and campaigner, 1848–1917
Octave Mirbeau was born in Trévières, Normandy, on 16 February 1848, and died in Paris on his 69th birthday.
He made his name as a journalist and art critic before turning to fiction. The Torture Garden and Diary of a Chambermaid exposed cruelty and hypocrisy behind respectable façades.
His play Business Is Business was a hit at the Comédie-Française, and he was a founding member of the Académie Goncourt.
Career highlights
1886Le Calvaire: first major novel
1898Dreyfus Affair: campaigns for Dreyfus
1899The Torture Garden: notorious novel
1900Diary of a Chambermaid: later filmed by Buñuel
1903Business Is Business: stage success
1903Académie Goncourt: founding member
Did you know?He was one of the first writers to own a motor car and wrote a travel book, La 628-E8, named after its number plate.
Octave Mirbeau's birthday is February 16. He was born on February 16, 1848 in Trévières, France.
How old was Octave Mirbeau when he died?
Octave Mirbeau died on February 16, 1917, aged 69.
Who shares a birthday with Octave Mirbeau?
Famous people who share Octave Mirbeau's February 16 birthday include Kim Jong-il, Ernst Haeckel, Philipp Melanchthon, Diego Godín and Elizabeth Olsen.
