E.T.A. Hoffmann (born January 24, 1776, Königsberg, Prussia [now Kaliningrad, Russia]died June 25, 1822, Berlin, Germany), German writer, composer, and painter known for his stories in which supernatural and sinister characters move in and out of men's lives, ironically revealing tragic or grotesque sides of human nature.
F. Scott Fitzgerald (born September 24, 1896, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.died December 21, 1940, Hollywood, California), American short-story writer and novelist famous for his depictions of the Jazz Age (the 1920s), his most brilliant novel being The Great Gatsby (1925). His private life, with his wife, Zelda, in both America and France, became almost as celebrated as his novels.
Guy de Maupassant (born August 5, 1850, Château de Miromesnil?, near Dieppe, Francedied July 6, 1893, Paris), French naturalist writer of short stories and novels who is by general agreement the greatest French short-story writer.
Honoré de Balzac(born May 20, 1799, Tours, Francedied August 18, 1850, Paris), French literary artist who produced a vast number of novels and short stories collectively called La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy). He helped to establish the traditional form of the novel and is generally considered to be one of the greatest novelists of all time.
François Vidocq, (born July 24, 1775, Arras, Fr.died May 11, 1857, Paris), adventurer and detective who helped create the police de sûreté ("security police") in France.