History Creator / LeonBloy

Léon Henri Marie Bloy (pronounced "Blwah") (11 July 1846 -- 3 Novel 1917) was a UsefulNotes/{{Fr|ance}}ench novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles, while also having a penchant for ruining friendships for his unrelenting and uncompromising polemical writings.

Bloy was born in Périgueux to Jean-Baptiste Bloy, a civil servant at the Ponts et Chaussées and Freemason, and Anne-Marie Carreau, a devout Catholic and the daughter of a French soldier who met a Spanish woman during the Napoleonic wars; Bloy was the second of six sons.

In December 1868, Bloy met Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, the staunch Catholic novelist and dandy, who lived opposite him in rue Rousselet and became his mentor. Barbey d'Aurevily introduced him to the philosopher Antoine Blanc de Saint-Bonnet and the writer Ernest Hello. These Catholic authors profoundly impacted Bloy, who eventually underwent a drastic religious conversion.

When his parents died in 1877, Bloy went to a Trappist monastery and met Abbé Tardif de Moidrey, who introduced him to symbolic exegesis during a stay at La Salette. Bloy took the idea of a "universal symbolism", which he applied to history, contemporary events, and his own life. He went on to return to writing, vociferously attacking the likes of Léon Gambetta, Creator/EmileZola, and Creator/VictorHugo, whom Bloy attacked for being an atheist. At the start of 1882, Anne-Marie began showing signs of madness; she was eventually interred in the Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris, which she never left. Bloy, inconsolable over the fate of his mistress, went on a retreat to the Grande Chartreuse in November, seeking aid from the Carthusians in helping him write a book about Christopher Columbus. This book, the first he has ever published, came to be known as ''The Revealer of the Globe: Christopher Columbus and His Future Beatification'' (1884). It was during this time that he became friends with Creator/JorisKarlHuysmans and Creator/AugusteVilliersDeLIsleAdam.

Bloy proceeded to enter a phase of prolific creativity, writing ''Sweating Blood'' (1893) and ''Disagreeable Tales'' (1894). At the same time, however, he was sacked from ''Gil Blas'' following yet another controversy, further worsening his destitution. The couple's sons, André and Pierre, die of malnutrition, and Johanne fell ill. Bloy proceeded to write ''The Woman Who Was Poor'' (1897), once again to little fanfare.

In 1898, Bloy published ''The Thankless Beggar'', yet again to little fanfare. However, the work was enthusiastically received by Jacques Maritain and his wife Raïssa, who converted to the Catholic faith under his influence and became his steadfast friends and torchbearers. Bloy continued to write, but over time, the world finally came to recognise his genius. On the other hand, upon the outbreak of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI on 28 July 1914, Bloy wrote his most pessimistic works, including ''Joan of Arc and Germany'' (1915), ''On the Threshold of the Apocalypse'' (1916), and ''Meditations of a Solitary in 1916'' (1916), feeling that his attacks on man were vindicated.

* ''The Revealer of the Globe: Christopher Columbus and His Future Beatification'' (1884): A biography on the life of the Genoese explorer, Christopher Columbus, written in an attempt to renew the cause for his canonization.

* ''Salvation Through the Jews'' (1892): A work examining the "Jewish problem" of his times and, in the strongest possible terms, condemns anti-semitism. Bloy considered it the "only one of my books I would dare to present to God".

* ''The Resurrection of Villiers de l'Isle-Adam'' (1906): A work written as a tribute to his friend, Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam while also doubling as a plea to Thomas Edison to help subscribe monetarily to the statue, sculpted in marble, by Frédéric Brou.
* ''She Who Weeps'' (1908): Bloy's work on the visions of two shepherds, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat, who recorded that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to them in the village of La Salette. Deeply influenced by millenarianism and the visions of Our Lady of La Salette wrote this to warn people to repent lest the end of time come about. He also resented how the visions of Our Lady of Lourdes distracted everyone from what he saw was the less sentimental message of La Salette.

Léon Henri Marie Bloy (pronounced "Blwah") (11 July 1846 -- 3 Novel 1917) was a UsefulNotes/{{Fr|ance}}ench novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles, while also having a penchant for ruining friendships for his unrelenting attacks.

On December 1868, Bloy met Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, the staunch Catholic novelist and dandy, who lived opposite him in rue Rousselet and became his mentor. Barbey d'Aurevily introduced him to the philosopher Antoine Blanc de Saint-Bonnet and the writer Ernest Hello. These Catholic authors profoundly impacted Bloy, who eventually underwent a drastic religious conversion.

When his parents died in 1877, Bloy went to a Trappist monastery and met Abbé Tardif de Moidrey, who introduced him to symbolic exegesis during a stay at La Salette. Bloy took the idea of a "universal symbolism", which he applied to history, contemporary events, and his own life. He went on to return to writing, vociferously attacking the likes of Léon Gambetta, Creator/EmileZola, and Creator/VictorHugo, whom Bloy attacked for being an atheist. At the start of 1882, Anne-Marie began showing signs of madness; she was eventually interred into the Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris, which she never left. Bloy, inconsolable over the fate of his mistress, went on a retreat to the Grande Chartreuse on November, seeking aid from the Carthusians in helping him write a book about Christopher Columbus. This book, the first he has ever published, came to be known as ''The Revealer of the Globe: Christopher Columbus and His Future Beatification'' (1884). It was during this time that he became friends with Creator/JorisKarlHuysmans and Creator/AugusteVilliersDeLIsleAdam.

Bloy moved to Vaugirard for six years in 1886. During this time, he began writing his first novel: a semi-autobiographical novel called ''The Desperate Man'' (1887), mirroring his relationship with Anne-Marie. He published this work on January 1887, but to little fanfare. Nevertheless, he went on to write ''The Desperate Woman'', the first draft of what would become ''The Woman Who Was Poor'', but he wrote a series of articles for the ''Gil Blas'' mazagine to earn a living.

On 1889, Barbey d'Aurevilly died on 23 April, with Villiers dying on 19 August, profoundly saddening Bloy. The circumstances of Barbey d'Aurevilly's death earned Bloy violent attacks from Joséphin Peladan, a former friend who published these attacks under the name "Sâr"; nearly all of the press welcomed the condemnations of Bloy. His friendship with Huysmans ended before the publication of ''Là-bas'', where Bloy was caricatured. On the other hand, Bloy met Johanne Charlotte Molbech, daughter of the Danish poet Christian Frederik Molbech at the end of the year. Johanne converted to the Catholic faith and married Bloy, finding in him a strange charisma despite his [[PerpetualPoverty perpetual destitution]].

* ''Sweating Blood'' (1893)
* ''Disagreeable Tales'' (1894)
* ''The Woman Who Was Poor'' (1897)
* ''The Thankless Beggar'' (1898)
* ''Je M'Accuse...'' (1900)
* ''The Resurrection of Villiers de l'Isle-Adam'' (1906):
* ''She Who Weeps'' (1908):
* ''Joan of Arc and Germany'' (1915)
* ''On the Threshold of the Apocalypse'' (1916)
* ''Meditations of a Solitary in 1916'' (1916)

When his parents died in 1877, Bloy went to a Trappist monastery and met Abbé Tardif de Moidrey, who introduced him to symbolic exegesis during a stay at La Salette. Bloy went on to take the idea of a "universal symbolism", which he went on to apply to history, contemporary events, and his own life. He went on to return to writing, vociferously attacking the likes of Léon Gambetta, Creator/EmileZola, and Creator/VictorHugo, whom Bloy attacked for being an atheist. At the start of 1882, Anne-Marie began showing signs of madness; she was eventually interred into the Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris, which she never left. Bloy, inconsolable over the fate of his mistress, went on a retreat to the Grande Chartreuse on November, seeking aid from the Carthusians in helping him write a book about Christopher Columbus. This book, the first he has ever published, came to be known as ''The Revealer of the Globe: Christopher Columbus and His Future Beatification'' (1884). It was during this time that he became friends with Creator/JorisKarlHuysmans and Creator/AugusteVilliersDeLIsleAdam.

When his parents died in 1877, Bloy went to a Trappist monastery and met Abbé Tardif de Moidrey, who introduced him to symbolic exegesis during a stay at La Salette. Bloy went on to take the idea of a "universal symbolism", which he went on to apply to history, contemporary events, and his own life. He went on to return to writing, vociferously attacking the likes of Léon Gambetta, Creator/EmileZola, and Creator/VictorHugo, whom Bloy attacked for being an atheist. At the start of 1882, Anne-Marie began showing signs of madness; she was eventually interred into the Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris, which she never left. Bloy, inconsolable over the fate of his mistress, went on a retreat to the Grande Chartreuse on November, seeking aid from the Carthusians in helping him write a book about Christopher Columbus. This book, the first he has ever published, came to be known as ''The Revealer of the Globe: Christopher Columbus and His Future Beatification'' (1884). It was during this time that he became friends with Creator/JorisKarlHuysmans and Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam.

Bloy had a miserable upbringing, being routinely whipped by his father and constantly fantasising about freedom; his mother's religious piety was his only consolation. He was also a middling student at the lycée de Périgueux, to the point where he was kicked out for "academic intransigence" in 1862. His exasperated father eventually took education into his own hands and tried to direct him towards architecture; during this time, Bloy developed an intense hatred for the Catholic Church and its doctrines. Jean-Baptiste found him a job in Paris in 1864, and Bloy worked as a clerk in the office of the principal architect of Orléans Railway Company, though he daydreamed of escaping. He also frequented socialist and anticlerical circles.

Léon Henri Marie Bloy (pronounced "Blwah") (11 July 1846 — 3 Novel 1917) was a French novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles, while also having a penchant for ruining friendships for his unrelenting attacks.

In 1898, Bloy published ''The Thankless Beggar'', yet again to little fanfare. However, the work was enthusiastically received by Jacques Maritain and his wife Raïssa, who converted to the Catholic faith under his influence and became his steadfast friends and torchbearers. Bloy continued to write, but over time, the world finally came to recognise his genius. On the other hand, upon the outbreak of World War I on 28 July 1914, Bloy wrote his most pessimistic works, including ''Joan of Arc and Germany'' (1915), ''On the Threshold of the Apocalypse'' (1916), and ''Meditations of a Solitary in 1916'' (1916), feeling that his attacks on man were vindicated.

[[quoteright:541:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/541px_lon_bloy_autoportrait_1863.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:541:Self-portrait from 1863]]

Bloy was nicknamed "the thankless beggar" for relying entirely on the charity of his friends to support him and his family. He was also called "the pilgrim of the absolute" because of his attacks that are as unrelenting as his fidelity to the Catholic Church. Creator/EmileZola was one of his literary enemies, and he wrote ''Je M'Accuse...'' (1900), a very scathing attack on Zola's novels ''Lourdes'' and ''Fecundity''. He even [[EatTheRich despised the wealthy]], gleefully exulting the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and two different fires: one at the Opéra-Comique in 1887 and another in 1896 at the Bazar de la Charité, an annual Catholic charity event. In ''The Woman Who Was Poor'', Bloy once jubilated at the thought of a wealthy woman burning to death.

On 1889, Barbey d'Aurevilly died on 23 April, with Villiers dying on 19 August, profoundly saddening Bloy. The circumstances of Barbey d'Aurevilly's death earned Bloy violent attacks from Joséphin Peladan, a former friend who published these attacks under the name "Sâr"; nearly all of the press welcomed the condemnations of Bloy. His friendship with Huysmans ended before the publication of ''Là-bas'', where Bloy was caricatured. On the other hand, Bloy met Johanne Charlotte Molbech, daughter of the Danish poet Christian Frederik Molbech at the end of the year. Johanne converts to the Catholic faith and marries Bloy, finding in him a strange charisma despite his perpetual destitution.

Bloy proceeded to enter a phase of prolific creativity, writing ''Sweating Blood'' (1893), ''Disagreeable Tales'' (1894). At the same time, however, he was sacked from ''Gil Blas'' following yet another controversy, further worsening his destitution. The couple's sons, André and Pierre, die of malnutrition, and Johanne fell ill. Bloy proceeded to write ''The Woman Who Was Poor'' (1897), once again to little fanfare.

In 1898, Bloy published ''The Thankless Beggar'', yet again to little fanfare. However, the work was enthusiastically received by Jacques Maritain and his wife Raïssa, who became his steadfast friends and torchbearers. Bloy continued to write, but over time, the world finally came to recognise his genius. On the other hand, upon the outbreak of World War I on 28 July 1914, Bloy wrote his most pessimistic works, including ''Joan of Arc and Germany'' (1915), ''On the Threshold of the Apocalypse'' (1916), and ''Meditations of a Solitary in 1916'' (1916), feeling that his attacks on man were vindicated.

On 3 November 1917, Bloy died peacefully, shortly after receiving last communion on All Saints' Day, surrounded by family and friends. He was buried in the Bourg-la-Reine Cemetery.

Bloy was nicknamed "the thankless beggar" for relying entirely on the charity of his friends to support him and his family. He was also called "the pilgrim of the absolute" because of his attacks that are as unrelenting as his fidelity to the Catholic Chuch, but he always insisted: "My anger is the effervescence of my pity". Creator/EmileZola was one of his literary enemies, and he wrote ''Je M'Accuse...'' (1900), a very scathing attack on Zola's novels ''Lourdes'' and ''Fecundity''. He even despised the wealthy, gleefully exulting the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and two different fires: one at the Opéra-Comique in 1887 and another in 1896 at the Bazar de la Charité, an annual Catholic charity event. In ''The Woman Who Was Poor'', Bloy once jubilated at the thought of a wealthy woman burning to death.

Bloy enlisted in the Mobiles de la Dordogne regiment in the Armée de la Loire in 1870, at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, during which he served as a sniper. He was commended for his bravery and returned to Périgueux the following year, forsaking his career as an office clerk for the life of a bohemian. When he returned to Paris in 1873, Bloy, at the recommendation of Barbey d'Aurevilly, took up a job as an editor of ''L'Univers'', the major Catholic newspaper run by Louis Veuillot. However, he quickly ruined his career with his severe, uncompromising criticisms. He went on to have a love affair with Anne-Marie Roule, an occasional prostitute who became his mistress; Bloy and Roule shared a number of profound mystical experiences, and Roule converted in 1878.

When his parents died in 1877, Bloy went to a Trappist monastery and met Abbé Tardif de Moidrey, who introduced him to symbolic exegesis during a stay at La Salette. Bloy went on to take the idea of a "universal symbolism", which he went on to apply to history, contemporary events, and his own life. He went on to return to writing, vociferously attacking the likes of Léon Gambetta, Creator/EmileZola, and Creator/VictorHugo, whom Bloy attacked for being an atheist.

Léon Henri Marie Bloy (pronounced "Blwah") (11 July 1846 — 3 Novel 1917) was a French novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles.

Bloy had a miserable upbringing, being routinely whipped by his father and constantly fantasising about freedom. He was also a middling student at the lycée de Périgueux, to the point where he was kicked out for "academic intransigence" in 1862. His exasperated father eventually took education into his own hands and tried to direct him towards architecture; during this time, Bloy developed an intense hatred for the Catholic Church and its doctrines. Jean-Baptiste found him a job in Paris in 1864, and Bloy worked as a clerk in the office of the principal architect of Orléans Railway Company, though he daydreamed of escaping. He also frequented socialist and anticlerical circles.

Bloy was nicknamed "The Pilgrim of the Absolute" because he unleashed attacks on his targets that were as unrelenting as his fidelity to the Catholic Chuch, but he always insisted: "My anger is the effervescence of my pity". Creator/EmileZola was one of his literary enemies, and he wrote ''Je M'Accuse...'' (1900), a very scathing attack on Zola's novels ''Lourdes'' and ''Fecundity''. He even despised the wealthy, gleefully exulting the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and two different fires: one at the Opéra-Comique in 1887 and another in 1896 at the Bazar de la Charité, an annual Catholic charity event. In ''The Woman Who Was Poor'', Bloy once jubilated at the thought of a wealthy woman burning to death.

Bloy had a miserable upbringing, being routinely whipped by his father and constantly fantasising about freedom. He was also a middling student at the lycée de Périgueux, to the point where he was kicked out for "academic intransigence" in 1862. His exasperated father eventually took education into his own hands and tried to direct him towards architecture; during this time, Bloy developed an intense hatred for the Catholic Church and its doctrines. Jean-Baptiste found him a job in Paris in 1864, and Bloy worked as a clerk in the office of the principal architect of Orléans Railway Company, though he daydreamed of escaping.

Bloy was a noted polemicist and made unrelenting attacks on his targets, but he always insisted: "My anger is the effervescence of my pity". Creator/EmileZola was one of his literary enemies, and he wrote ''Je M'Accuse...'' (1900), a very scathing attack on Zola's novels ''Lourdes'' and ''Fecundity''. He even despised the wealthy, gleefully exulting the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and two different fires: one at the Opéra-Comique in 1887 and another in 1896 at the Bazar de la Charité, an annual Catholic charity event. In ''The Woman Who Was Poor'', Bloy once jubilated at the thought of a wealthy woman burning to death.

-->''"There is only one misery... and that is—NOT TO BE SAINTS."''

Léon Henri Marie Bloy (pronounced "Blwah") (11 July 1846 — 3 Novel 1917) was a French novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles.

Léon Bloy (pronounced "Blwah") (11 July 1846 — 3 Novel 1917) was a French novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles.

Léon Bloy (11 July 1846 — 3 Novel 1917) was a French novelist, essayist, and satirist. He was a staunch Catholic and was very influential within French Catholic circles.