Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville

Jean-Baptiste François Xavier Cousin De Grainville (April 3, 1746, Le Havre, France – February 1, 1805, Amiens, France) was a French writer who wrote a seminal work of fantasy literature: Le Dernier Homme (The Last Man) (1805). This was the first modern novel to depict the end of the world.^[1]

The son of an army staff officer, de Grainville was destined for the priesthood, like his brother, who became Bishop of Cahors. After attending school in Caen, he attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. De Grainville was ordained a priest in 1766 but left the priesthood during the French Revolution^[1]. He committed suicide in 1805 and his novel was published posthumously.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The Last Man". University Press of New England. http://www.upne.com/0-8195-6549-0.html. Retrieved September 30, 2011. 

• Joseph François, Michaud, ed. (1857) (in French) Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne [Encyclopedia of Ancient and Modern Biography] 17 Paris: Michaud frères pp. 315-316 
• Ash, Brian, ed. (1977). "The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction". New York: Harmony Books. pp. 132. 

Persondata
Name	Cousin De Grainville, Jean-Baptiste
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Date of birth	1746
Place of birth
Date of death	1805
Place of death