Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (Known as "Villiers de L'Isle-Adam")

Symbolist Author, Aristocratic Bohemian, Creator of Tomorrow's Eve (L'Ève future) and Axël

Born Nov 07, 1838

Saint-Brieuc (Brittany), France

Passed Away Aug 18, 1889 Paris, France

Lifespan 50 years old

1 views

Notice / Correction

"Vivre? Les serviteurs feront cela pour nous (As for living, our servants will do that for us)."

Archival Overview

Impoverished Breton nobleman and pioneer of French Symbolism whose 1886 science-fiction novel L'Ève future coined the term 'Android' and whose occult verse drama Axël contains the famous line: 'As for living, our servants will do that for us'.

Biographical Record

Descended from the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, Villiers lived in proud, aristocratic poverty in Paris attics and nocturnal bohemian cafés, befriending Stéphane Mallarmé and Richard Wagner. He championed philosophical idealism against bourgeois materialism.

In L'Ève future (1886), featuring a fictionalized Thomas Edison constructing a perfect electromechanical android woman named Hadaly, Villiers popularized the word 'android'. In his supreme dramatic work Axël (1890), the hero renounces earthly compromise for mystical eternity with the famous aphorism: 'Vivre? Les serviteurs feront cela pour nous'.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

0 messages recorded

Leave a Respectful Tribute

Select a sentiment or reaction (optional):

Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

Your Name / Title *

Your Email (Private, for anti-abuse)

Tribute Message *

No tributes recorded yet. Be the first to leave a message in honor of Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam.

Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Père Lachaise Cemetery (Division 79)
Paris, France

                         GPS: 48.8617, 2.3944                    

View on Memory Atlas

Archival Standards PastLegacies adheres to strict neutral biographical guidelines and legal standards of remembrance. Next-of-kin may request modifications or removal at any time via our expedited process.

Read Governance Policy →