Failed small businesses in France, left for Djibouti then Ethiopia, turned smuggler on the Red Sea, trafficked in pearls, haschich, morphine, spied for France during world war I in the area, started businesses in Ethiopia, became press corespondant, friend with Joseph Kessel, later supported the Italians in Ethiopia and flew with their armed forces.
Not a giant of litterature, but he did write about his own life and several novels which had a lot of success in the 1930s, and apparently he narrowly missed entry to the Académie Française.
May I submit Henry de Monfreid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_de_Monfreid)?
Failed small businesses in France, left for Djibouti then Ethiopia, turned smuggler on the Red Sea, trafficked in pearls, haschich, morphine, spied for France during world war I in the area, started businesses in Ethiopia, became press corespondant, friend with Joseph Kessel, later supported the Italians in Ethiopia and flew with their armed forces.
Not a giant of litterature, but he did write about his own life and several novels which had a lot of success in the 1930s, and apparently he narrowly missed entry to the Académie Française.