René Francois Nicolas Marie Bazin was a French author who lived from December 26, 1853, to July 20, 1932. He was born in Angers and went to Paris to study law. When he got back to Angers, he became a professor of law at the Catholic university. Bazin married Aline Bricard in 1876. They had six daughters and two boys. In Parisian magazines, he wrote about travel and everyday life in the countryside, and he also wrote Stephanette (1884). But it was Une Tache d'Encre (A Spot of Ink) (1888), which won him fame and a prize from the Academy, that made him famous. He became a member of the Académie francaise on April 28, 1904, taking Ernest Legouvé's place. René Bazin was leader of the Corporation des Publicistes Chretiens and a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.
