Avinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619 – 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the seventeenth century. Today he is best known as the inspiration for Edmond Rostand's most noted drama Cyrano de Bergerac which, although it includes elements of his life, also contains invention and myth.
Cyrano de Bergerac is considered to be the forerunner of the fantastical literary genre and his stories offer the reader futuristic scenarios, twists and suspenseful plots.