He was born in Plomelin, a commune in Finistère, Brittany, the son of a prefect of Brittany who resigned from his post to settle in Paris. Souvestre studied law at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly.
Career
He became a lawyer, then a journalist, and a businessman. He owned a garage in Liverpool from 1898, then a second in Paris from 1905. A delegate of the Automobile Club de France(fr), he organized motor races, contributed to the newspaper L'Auto(fr), and wrote technical books, including the 1907 book, A.C.F. History of the Automobile,[1] and the French-English Automobile Dictionary in 1910.
In 1909, already a published author, Souvestre co-wrote, with his friend and assistant Allain, their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fantômas series, appears in this first novel.
In February 1911, Allain and Souvestre began the Fantômasbook series at the request of Joseph-Arthème Fayard (fr), a publisher, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. Allain and Souvestre also jointly wrote the spy series Naz-en-l'air. After his death, Allain continued the Fantômas saga alone.
Private life
Souvestre took in Marcel Allain when Allain was driven from his home by his father. Souvestre died of a congestion of the lungs.[2] Souvestre's former girlfriend, Henriette Kistler, married Marcel Allain on 27 September 1926. Kistler died in 1956.
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