Barbey d'Aurevilly, Jules Amédée

Barbey d'Aurevilly, Jules Amédée (zhül ämādā` bärbā` dōrvēyē`), 1808–89, French writer and critic. An aristocrat and monarchist, he supported himself by journalism; his output of critical and polemical articles was enormous. He favored Balzac, early admired Baudelaire, and harshly criticized naturalism. His novels and stories, set in his native Cotentin, are notable portrayals of provincial life and tragic struggle. Perhaps best remembered is Les Diaboliques (1874, tr. 1925), hallucinatory tales with a satanic motif.