A LONG, SUCCESSFUL, and loving relationship came to a sad and somewhat bizarre close when one of these two friends and collaborators decided that the copyright for all their works should rest with him. Emile Erckmann (1822–1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (1826–1890) met as students and began to write collaboratively in 1849. Their coauthorship methodology was probably unique in that Erckmann, clearly the creative genius behind the numerous works of fiction, wrote everything, while Chatrian took care of editing and polishing, as well as handling the messy business of publishing and dramatizations. Surviving manuscripts and papers provide evidence of their productive system. Both men were natives of Alsace-Lorraine and, while Erckmann remained there, Chatrian moved to Paris to handle their business affairs. Although their major works are unread today, their Alsatian novels provide valuable and accurate information about the events, ideas, and folklore of the time and region. Written in clear and direct prose aimed at the general reader, eschewing literary movements, styles, and fads, they were enormously popular while being largely ignored by critics. Often featuring military backgrounds, the novels were appealing to readers for their republican slant and their repudiation of imperialism and Germany. They produced many supernatural stories that were influenced by Poe and Hoffman, and it is these tales for which they are remembered today. Chatrian became ill in 1887 and ended the collaboration. Three years later, as he lay dying, he brought a lawsuit claiming full credit and ownership of all their works. He lost the suit and, although a disappointed and newly pessimistic Erckmann continued to write for several years, it was without distinction.
“The Murderer’s Violin” (which has also been published as “The Spectre’s Violin” and “The Violin of the Man That Was Hanged”) was first published in Histoires et Contes Fantastiques (1849); its first appearance in English translation was in the September 1876 issue of the Dublin University Magazine.