The career of a writer is comparable to that of a woman of easy virtue. You write first for pleasure, later for the pleasure of others and finally for money.

The distinctive quality of Achard's plays was their dreamlike mood of sentimental melancholy underscored by the very titles which were primarily taken from popular bittersweet songs of the day. Nine years after that premiere however Patate which played to sold-out theaters in Paris could not translate its elusive charm to American audiences and repeated the seven-performance fiasco of the previous single-name character Domino. Domino adapted by actress-writer Grace George opened at the Playhouse Theatre on 16 August 1932 and closed after seven performances.

He was elected to the Académie française in 1959.