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French dramatist and writer (1740–1814)

Louis-Sébastien Mercier
Born	(1740-06-06)6 June 1740 Paris, France
Died	25 April 1814(1814-04-25) (aged 73) Paris, France
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	French

Louis-Sébastien Mercier (6 June 1740 – 25 April 1814) was a French dramatist and writer, whose 1771 novel L'An 2440 is an example of proto-science fiction.

Early life and education

He was born in Paris to a humble family: his father was a skilled artisan who polished swords and metal arms. Mercier nevertheless received a decent education.

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Literary career

Mercier began his literary career by writing heroic epistles. Early on, he came to the conclusion that Boileau and Racine had ruined the French language and that the true poet wrote in prose.

He wrote plays, pamphlets, and novels, and published prodigiously. Mercier often recycled passages from one work to another and expanded on essays he had already written.