Between medicine and astrology: "Nostradamus" by Michel Zévaco

Abstract

Due to the exploits of the famous and indomitable swashbuckler Pardaillan, Michel Zévaco’s name has normally been associated with the adventure novel and the historical novel. Despite such reputation, this study focuses on Zévaco’s Nostradamus, a story that occupies a singular place in the author’s evolution, because it is also presented as an imaginary biography. It reveals an interest in parapsychology and a curiosity for science, showing in turn the strategy inaugurated in Zévaco’s previous works where, to recreate a situation of mystery, the author turned to prominent figures such as the wizard or the alchemist. Such a confluence makes the reader wonder how the biographical (anchored in reality) and the fantastic (latent in the main character) may converge. This article probes the extent to which the main role is rooted in science, and whether the prophecies evoked by Zévaco come from the fact that the protagonist is an astrologer, or from the writer’s mind instead.