PONSON DU TERRAIL [PIERRE ALEXIS DE PONSON], Vicomte De (1829-1871), French romance writer, was born at Montmaur (Isere) on the 8th of July 1829. He was a prolific novelist, producing in the space of two years some seventythree volumes. Among his most successful productions were Les Coulisses du monde (1853), Exploits de Rocambole (1859), Les Drames de Paris (1865 ) and Le Forgeron de la Cour-Dieu (186q). He died at Bordeaux on the 20th of January 1871.