Mayer André Marcel Schwob, known as Marcel Schwob (23 August 1867 – 26 February 1905), was a French Symbolist writer best known for his short stories and his literary influence on authors such as Jorge Louis Borges and Roberto Bolano He has been called a "precursor of SurrealismIn addition to over a hundred short stories, he wrote journalistic articles, essays, biographies, literary reviews, and analysis, translations and plays. He was extremely well known and respected during his life and notably befriended a great number of intellectuals and artists of the time.