LOTI, PIERRE (the pen name of Louis Marie Julien Viaud) (1850-1923), French author, was born at Rochefort on Jan. 185o. Following the tradition of his family, he entered the navy, attained the rank of captain in 1906, and in 1910 was placed on the reserve list. His earliest work Aziyade, a book which, like so many of Loti's, seems half a romance, half an autobiography, was published in 1876, and from that time he continued at in tervals to write novels which were mainly reminiscent of his travels. While taking part as a naval officer in the Tonking war, Loti exposed a series of scandals which followed on the capture of Hue (1883), and was suspended from the service for over a year. He continued silent for some time, but in 1886 published his most famous book, Pecheur d'Islande, a novel of life among the Breton fisher-folk. In May 1891 he was elected a member of the French academy. He died at Hendaye (Basses Pyrenees) on June io, 1923.
Loti's greatest successes were gained in the species of confession, half-way between fact and fiction, of his earlier books. He
remains, in mechanism of style and cadence, one of the most original and most perfect French writers of the second half of the 19th century.
Among his most important works are: Rarahu (188o) republished as Le Mariage de Loti; Le Roman d'un Spahi 0880 ; Mon frere Yves (1883) ; Propos d'exil (1887) ; Madame Chrysantheme (1887) ; Au Maroc (I89o) ; La Livre de la pitig et de la mort (1890 ; Fantome d'orient (1892) ; Ramuntcho (1897) ; L'Inde (sans les Anglais) (1903) ; La troisieme jeunesse de Mme. Prune (19o5) ; Les Desenchantges (1906; Eng. trans. by C. Bell) ; La Mort de Philae (1908) ; Judith Renaudin (Théâtre Antoine, 1904).
See also P. Loti, Journal intime, 1878-188r (1925) ; P. Loti, Lettres a Mme. Juliette Adam, 188o-1922 (1924) ; N. Serban, Pierre Loti, sa vie et son oeuvre (1924).