Fortunio (novel)

"Fortunio"
Short story by Théophile Gautier
Original titleL'Eldorado, ou Fortunio
TranslatorF.C. de Sumichrast
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench; English
GenreRomantic Fantasy
Publication
Published inLe Figaro
Publication typePeriodical
Publication dateMay 1837
Published in English1907

Fortunio is a novel by the French writer Théophile Gautier, first published under the name L'Eldorado and serialized in the newspaper Le Figaro from May 28 to July 14, 1837. It was compiled and published in a book under the name of Fortunio in 1838. It deals with Orientalist themes, and satirizes wealth, worldliness, and idleness. It has been characterized as absurdist, eccentric, and Decadent, and is a Romantic fantasy. Gautier considered the novel to be "his last expression of a 'doctrine'" concerning artistic creation.