Abbe Prevost, also known simply as the Abbe Prevost, was a French priest, author, and writer. He was born in Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full name Prevost d'Exiles in a letter to Amsterdam's booksellers in 1731. His father, Lievin Prevost, was a lawyer, and other members of the family had taken up the ecclesiastical estate. At the age of 14, he lost his mother and younger favorite sister, bringing his joyful upbringing to a sudden end. Prevost attended the Jesuit school in Hesdin and joined the order as a novice in Paris in 1713, while also studying at the college at La Fleche. He left the Jesuits to join the army at the end of 1716, but he quickly became dissatisfied with military life and returned to Paris in 1719, allegedly with the intention of continuing his novitiate. He is claimed to have traveled around the Netherlands during this time, and he eventually returned to the service, this time with a commission. Some biographers believe he suffered some of the disasters attributed to his idol Des Grieux. Whatever the reality, he joined the erudite community of the Benedictines of St. Maur, where he says he sought refuge after the unfortunate end of a love affair.