Arthur Bernède

Arthur Bernède (5 January 1871 – 20 March 1937) was a French writer, poet, opera librettist, and playwrightb born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany. In 1919, Bernède joined forces with actor René Navarre, who had played Fantômas in the Louis Feuillade serials, and writer Gaston Leroux, the creator of Rouletabille, to launch the Société des Cinéromans, a production company that would simultaneously produce films and novels. Bernède published almost 200 novels in the historical, adventure and mystery genres. His best-known characters include Belphégor, Judex, Mandrin, Chantecoq, and Vidocq. Bernède also collaborated on plays, poems, and opera libretti with Paul de Choudens; including several operas by Félix Fourdrain, Jules Massenet's Sapho, and Camille Erlanger's L'Aube rouge.