The brothers Edmond de (1822-1896) and Jules de (1830-1870) Goncourt collaborated on novels which originated the Naturalist school in France. Their "Journals" provide a fascinating picture of Parisian literary life in the 19th century.

Edmond de Goncourt was born at Nancy on May 26, 1822, and his younger brother, Jules, in Paris on Dec. 17, 1830. Their father, a member of a recently ennobled family, who had fought with distinction under Napoleon, died in 1834 and their mother in 1848, leaving the brothers a comfortable private income. Neither married, and the two were virtually never separated until Jules's premature death on June 20, 1870.

Initially the Goncourts intended to become painters, but during a trip to Algeria in 1849 they began to make travel notes and decided to make their career in literature. Their early attempts at plays and a novel were unsuccessful, and they turned to art criticism and works of history dealing with the 18th...