He was a poet, belonging to the Fantaisiste school, a novelist, a dramatist, and art critic for L'Homme libre and Gil Blas.

His works are picturesque, painting as they do the street life of Montmartre, and often being written in the argot of Paris.

His memoir, The Last Bohemia: From Montmartre to the Latin Quarter,[1] contains reminiscences of bohemian life in Paris during the early years of the 20th century.

The narrator Raoul Duquette of her story Je ne parle pas français (who has a cynical attitude to love and sex) is partly based on him, and her story An Indiscreet Journey is based on her journey through the war zone to spend four nights with Corporal Francis Carco near Gray.

She saved as a memento of him a fake letter from "Julie Boiffard" asking her to visit (which is now held in the Turnbull Library).