 A son of a banker and distant cousin of Gambetta, Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi studied at the college in Castres, where he met Jean Jaurès, who was at that time a tutor there, and became a friend of the doctor and scholar François de Vesian.He went to study law in Toulouse.In 1887–1888, at the instigation of Laurent Tailhade, Gheusi worked on the revue "Le Décadent", but his literary career struggled to take off, despite the recommendations of Émile Zola and Catulle Mendès.