Marcel Allain

{{Infobox artist

| image = File:Marcel Allain (1885-1969).jpg

| birth_name = Marcel Allain

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1885|09|15|df=y}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1969|08|25|1885|09|15|df=yes}}

}}

Marcel Allain ({{IPA|fr|maʁsɛl alɛ̃}}; 15 September 1885 – 25 August 1969) was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas.

Career

The son of a bourgeois family, Allain studied law before becoming a journalist. He then became the assistant of Souvestre, who was already a well-known figure in literary circles. In 1909, the two men published their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fantômas series, appears in the novel.

Then, in February 1911, Allain and Souvestre embarked upon the Fantômas book series at the request of publisher Arthème Fayard, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. The success was immediate and lasting.

After Souvestre’s death in February 1914, Allain continued the Fantômas saga alone, then launched several other series, such as Tigris, Fatala, Miss Téria and Férocias, but none garnered the same popularity as Fantômas.{{Cite web|url=http://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/marcelallain.htm|title=Marcel Allain - Tigris - Fatala - Miss Téria}} In total, Allain wrote more than 400 novels in his prolific career.

On 27 September 1926, Allain married Souvestre’s girl-friend, Henriette Kistler. She died in 1956.

Other work by Allain and Souvestre

Le Rour (1908)

Bibliography of the Fantômas books

=By Allain and Souvestre=

;1911

1. Fantômas (1911; transl. 1915; retransl. 1986){{Cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27794|title = Fantômas}}
2. Juve contre Fantômas (1911; transl. 1916; retransl. 1987){{Cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30586|title = The Exploits of JuveBeing the Second of the Series of the "Fantômas" Detective Tales}}
3. Le Mort qui Tue (1911; transl. 1917){{Cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28333|title = Messengers of EvilBeing a Further Account of the Lures and Devices of Fantômas}}
4. L'Agent Secret (1911; transl. 1917){{Cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29029|title = A Nest of Spies}}
5. Un Roi Prisonnier de Fantômas (1911; transl. 1919){{Cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27789|title = A Royal Prisoner}}
6. Le Policier Apache (1911; transl. 1924)
7. Le Pendu de Londres (1911; transl. 1920)
8. La Fille de Fantômas (1911; transl. 2006) ({{ISBN|1932983562}})
9. Le Fiacre de Nuit (1911)
10. La Main Coupée (1911; transl. 1924)