Biography of Auguste, comte de Villiers de L’Isle-Adam, in full Auguste-Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe, comte de (count of) Villiers de L’Isle-Adam, French poet, dramatist, and short-story writer whose work reflects a revolt against naturalism and a combination of Romantic idealism and cruel sensuality. His hatred of the mediocrity of a materialistic age and his compelling personality made a considerable impression on later writers.